Danish xenophobia victims

Bulgaria wants back to the good old communist rule

2012-02-02T22:44:00.000+01:00

According to various sources in the tourist industry the citizen in the parts of Bulgaria serving the tourism industry had expressed wishes about returning to the good old days when the country was under communist rule and become an isolated state.

Fact is that Bulgaria has beaten Ibiza as one of the most popular vacation places in Europe.

There is no reason at all to visit Bulgaria unless you will attend a binge drinking party. This country has nothing else to offer.

But it is not all.

Tourists who are so unlucky that they get ill during their holiday should be very careful as there are doctors and entire hospitals down there which will try to fool the patients to buy extra treatment not covered by the normal travel insurance.

That is worrying because Bulgaria has been targeted by students who want peace and quietness while they study for their finals. Various travel agencies are arranging holiday packets targeted against young students.

I would be very careful and not chose Bulgaria for my next holiday. If you have your health as a high priority, I guess you will avoid Bulgaria as well.

Sources (In Danish)

Bulgarske hoteller vil af med danske druk-turister, by Anne Louise Leth, Politiken, August 31, 2011

Bulgarske læger trækker danske turister i retten, by Anne Louise Leth, Politiken, July 8, 2011

Do not travel with medication

2011-11-12T17:48:00.003+01:00

A 37 year old Danish women suffering from pain due to a work injury was sentenced to 5 years in jail because she tried to smuggle medication into Indonesia.

In Denmark Cannabis are recognized to be used to reduce pain. Instead of smoking the drugs which drugusers do, pills with only the active drug can be ingested.

However in other less developed countries they are not aware of the usefulness of the drugs, so such pills are illegal.

The Danish woman must have known this as she had sallowed the container for the drugs.

It is not possible to warn enough against traveling to less developed countries like Indonesia where modern medical treatment continue to not to be recognized.

Beside the laws forbidding modern medication please remember that there also continue to be risk of terrorism as three young women lost their lives in the bali bombings. Also the police is corrupt. Even if you don't smuggle drugs you can be accused to smuggle if you don't pay the local police off like it did happen to the Australian supermodel Michelle Leslie.

Regardless of the fact that the Danish woman did commit an error by taking modern medicaition to a less developed culture, we fear that she will be forced to worship false Gods like pagans. It was also something the Australian supermodel was forced to.

Sources:

Dansker skal fem år i indonesisk fængsel for smugling (Politiken, In Danish)

2002 Bali bombings (Wikipedia)

Michelle Leslie (Wikipedia)

If you want your stuff protected against tourists, then write a sign

2011-11-05T13:39:00.004+01:00

A Danish student accidently broke a rock at some kind of ruin down in Rome. For some reason the local population saw this rock at something special and he may risk a fine if the school has neglected the task of providing their students with a good insurance.

We can only ask why they didn't set a sign up not to touch the rocks. In Denmark we did choose to protect the Jelling Stones behind glas because some paint got on them.

It is not a nice way to treat guest - students who came to their country to learn about their culture.

The Danish schools should avoid Italy as the population seem to hostile against foreigners in general. American Exchange student organizations have already lawyered up in response to the Amanda Knox case where a young student was held on false charges for 3 years based on the fantasy of a convicted State Attorney.

The Danish schools should follow the example of the US organizations if they want to continue to travel to Italy. Otherwise the family of the students should demand that their school refrain from traveling down there.

Source:

Dansk elev smadrer antikvitet i Rom (TV2 Nyhederne, In Danish)

Danneggia il foro romano denunciato studente danese (La Repubblica, November 3, 2011)

United States - don't save your ship

2011-10-03T21:33:00.000+02:00

Some years ago when the authorities wanted to demonstrate their power the captain of a Danish coaster was arrested because the US Coast Guard claimed that he maneuvered his ship right into the patrol boat.

However every expert in modern shipping could see that it was poor seamanship on the behalf of the US Coast Guard which caused the episode.

All there was to say about the jail was that it suffered from poor sanitation conditions. Maybe because they wanted to break the jailed Dane and because he wanted to leave the United States alive rather than seeking justice and risk death, his lawyers hired by the Danish Trade Union made a deal.

The Trade Union backed the Danish Captain all the way and today most Danish ships don't sail under the Danish flag when entering the seas controlled by the United States and the crew are often dispensable foreigners because unfair treatment by the authorities is expected.

If you are working onboard a ship remember that the US Coast Guard holds a grudge against Danish sailors.

Sources:
Dansk kaptajn løslades i USA, TV2 Nyhederne
VILLY OG SØFARTENS LEDERE I MEDIERNE, Søfartens Ledere
Fængslet kaptajn fornærmede USA, Kristlig Dagblad

Thailand - extortion by the authorities

2011-08-20T20:19:00.001+02:00

The Wikipedia article about the Royal Thai Police include a number of cases where the police has engaged in actions which resemples extortion.

One of the cases include a 15 Danish boy who were victims by people trying to fake an accident in order to receive compensation. However they timed the move wrong and a man got killed in the accident. He was using a boat children even down to 10 use on holidays in Thailand.

The Thai police dropped the case but not before his family had to pay a large sum. The close ties between the group behind the scam and the police should be warning enough for every Dane to stay away from Thailand.

Sources:
15-årige Kristian fange i Thailand, Dansk Thai Website
Royal Thai Police, Wikipedia

When the police is corrupt you stand no chances

2011-07-08T18:26:00.002+02:00

This is a special post as there are no Danes involved. However it could be of interest for exchange students and tourists thinking of visiting Bolivia

We have just learned that Col. Milton Sánchez Pantoja who was responsible for the arrest of 3 woman from Norway has been arrested for drug trafficing. The very same charge which were brought against the Norwegian women.

2 of the women are serving what is basically a life sentence considering the primitive conditions in the jail. There are no television or just cells of similar standard as even one of the toughest prisons in Norway - Halden prison - can present.

One of the women escaped back home before the trial could start and she is facing a show trial where the authorities may be forced to convict her of something so they won't meet too much opposition if they try to exchange the 2 woman out of Bolivia before they die due to the poor sanitary conditions in the jail.

Was this a basic setup by the authorities to catch attention so they could smuggle their good out of the country? It could very well be the case.

When the police force in a country is corrupt, none are safe. Please avoid Bolivia at all cost.

Top Bolivian Official Is Arrested and Sent to U.S. on Drug Charges (New York Times, February 27, 2011
Halden Prison - Norwegian homepage
Tror på frifinnelse for lillesandskvinnen About the women who managed to escape from Bolivia

In the footsteps of the Mirabal sisters

2011-06-10T18:20:00.000+02:00

Early this year we learned that a young Danish woman had been detained by the authorities in the Dominican republic. In a time where even good god-fearing Christians are detained and expelled from both Haiti and the Dominican republic the official charge doesn't matter.

This young Danish woman who now is at risk of following in the footsteps of the Mirabal sisters may not even survive long enough so she can participate in the show-trial which is expected to take place sometime in the future.

We must all pray that the Danish government can intervene and demand her extradited or at least bribe her free as they did with the Danish woman in Cambodia.

References:
Ung dansk kvinde fængslet for narkosmugling i Mellemamerika, Politiken, March 13, 2010

Cuts due to lack of funding

2011-05-17T10:56:00.003+02:00

Unfortunately the economically situation have forced us to cut back in costs.

You will still be able to find us by mail at this postal address:

Institute for dissemination of Danish culture and information
441B Soldraget
5000 Odense C
Denmark

but we are closing our webpage.

Our government has presented a 2020-plan where no money have been allocated for information projects serving educating the world about our sensible culture. It leaves us no room for continuing our work at the present level of activity, so it is with sadness that we have to implement the new structure.

Tourists are defenceless i New Zealand

2011-05-04T21:08:00.001+02:00

The brother of one of our patriots who fell in the line of Duty in Afghanistan only a few days before Christmas in 2008 were jailed in New Zealand for trying to defend himself in a local bar brawl.

We all remember the sad day in 2008 where terrorist took the lives of no less than three servicemen, among them the brother of the convicted backpacker. The loss had a huge impact on his family in Denmark who were left behind.

Without being able to find peace in life the brother left his home traveling as a backpacker while trying to regain control in his life.

It was on this journey he saw the fight between a Dutch tourist and a local man. Still traumatized by the loss, he stepped in to protect the other tourist. A Dutchman he might have met at the hostel.

For this he now got a month in jail which can only be contributed to a court system favoring locals and shunning outsiders.

It is difficult to tell if the general hostility Danes in many part of the world experience due to our battle against the morale supply lines of terrorism fought with tools like the cartoon war did play a part in this harsh conviction. New Zealand seems not to have contributed to the involvement of air forces in Afghanistan so it seems that they don't want to be a part in the war on terrorism at all.

Was his conviction a condemnation of the nations fighting this war rather than a result of the individual act? It is hard to say.

We will pray that he returns to Denmark safely and he will get help from the RCT once he return home.

But with the question of New Zealands stand in the war against terrorism not answered, the only advice to Danish tourists in general must be not to visit this country.

Source:
Pair jailed for street beating, The Southland Times, April 19, 2011
Mindeord for Jacob Moe Jensen, Sebastian La Cour Holm & Benjamin D.S. Rasmussen, by Flemming Leer, Denmark Online, December 21, 2008

Beware of New Zealand

2011-04-05T21:32:00.002+02:00

In the latest case a Danish backpacker who intervened to rescue another tourist from locals ended up being convicted of assault.

Playing home field in a court matters and also to consider is the fact that Denmark is at war several places in the world fighting terrorism. While New Zealand must be considered to be on the same side as a nation, individuals might not share the politics.

Being a tourist outside Denmark is not the smartest move and we must recommend that Danes avoid countries like New Zealand right now.

Source:
Jail term 'inevitable' for backpackers (The Southland Times, April 5, 2011)

Not xenophobia - victim of cruel nature

2011-03-11T15:42:00.001+01:00

So far three students have lost their lives during skiing holidays. Also this year we were not spared of such tragedies. For the second year in a row a young Dane lost his life at Bad Gastein.

How is it that we continue to lose such young lives who have not lived long enough so they could fulfill their potential. Can anything be blamed on the local population?

The answer is no. In fact it is important the the students continue to travel as they do and socialize as they have done until now because we are talking about losing a vital part of conducting their social lives if they stopped to travel to Austria.

They need to be prepared to the customs of the Friday bars at their future job once they are graduating the schools.

The young man lost his life because he fell off a cliff when returning to his hotel after a long night of afterskiing. Nothing much could have been done to prevent it as the conditions in the area are of a dangerous nature due to the staff working in the area. The danger was known in advance.

But a death is still a death. It is a terrible loss for his family. A solution could be that parents in larger number accompanied the students on the holiday and volunteered as night owls in Austria so they could see to that the students returned safely to their hotels.

May lives be spared in the future

Sources:
Danske Dion faldt 30 meter ned og døde (BT, March 11, 2011)
Tidligere elev: - Det er et farligt sted (Ekstra Bladet, March 11, 2011)
Body of missing Dane found (Austrian Times, March 1, 2010)

This must be the last year

2011-02-20T21:57:00.000+01:00

Once again people cannot settle by enjoying the good money they earn by having Danes visiting.

They want the Danes to buy a lot of alcohol and then they expect the Danes to throw it out and drink milk instead so they don't have to take the consequences. The people living around Les Arcs are angry because their sales come with a cost. What kind of business doesn't cost connected to the sale.

It has to stop at some point. All the young Danes do are partying while they travel. It is quite normal. In fact the Sun spoke of a cultural difference hitting Brits as xenophobia when they visited countries in the Middle East.

The solution is clear. We need to create a party holliday area where the young people can go and enjoy their holliday. They are working on such a solution down at Falster. Maybe next the youth traveling abroad for holidays or to take a course down in Marienlyst where the new party aread it built.

References:
1.700 danske unge 'larmer som dyr' og raserer skisportssted, by Andreas Lindqvist, Politiken, February 19, 2011 (article in Danish)
»Når man samler 1.700 unge, går det jo ikke stille af sig«>, by Andreas Lindqvist, Politiken, February 20, 2011 (article in Danish)
Boozy Brits go wild in Dubai, by Nick Carter, The Sun, 12. july 2008
Marielyst skal være det nye Sunny Beach, by Marta Gramstrup, Folketidende, 13. februar 2011(article in Danish)

A computer virus can lead to your arrest if you travel abroad

2011-02-01T16:16:00.001+01:00

According to several websites a computer specialist named Kai Lundstroem Pedersen has been arrested in the United States on the charges of distributing child pornography.

Recent analyses of his computer have revealed that his laptop and work computer was used as a bot. Not even the internal computer security teams at his workspace - the city hall in the town of Randers - had caught the illegal traffic despite their monitoring of all employees 24/7.

His colleges had no suspicion of his activities. Not surprisingly taken into account that the illegal traffic most likely came through a small program - called a Bot - hidden in the operative system on his computers.

Unfortunately most anti-virus programs cannot offer 100 percent protection and while the employees and their work on the computers are monitored 24/7, the computers themselves are not monitored in the same ways as it is expected that the security programs should be able to handle all problems on their own.

It is however not the case. In the town of Hilleroed the entire system crashed and work including emails was lost because the servers were only monitored during work hours.

His colleges know him as a good man with honest values. They are shocked over his arrest.

Kai Lundstroem Pedersen is therefore not a victim of xenophobia against Danes. He is a victim of technology left unsupervised. He has not been fired from his work. He is only suspended because he didn't show up for work after his holiday. He had no reason to suspect that a pedophile did use his computer through a hidden VPN-tunnel.

The security firm working for his employer has been denied access to his computer as the Danish police has confiscated the computer due the wish of maintaining a good relationship between Denmark and the United States. Therefore it has not been possible to determine how the Bot got installed on his computer. Unfortunately it means that others could be a risk.

If you use a computer at your work the advice is not to travel abroad.

Even when the criminal act was done by another, the IP-number used for the crime could be yours and then you are arrested.

Update september 2011: Forced to plea guilty by the fact that the trafic came from his computer despite the fact that an internal investigation by his employer has revealed that he hadn't committed the criminal acts in person, he now risk between 15 and 30 years of prison.

He could be returned to Denmark as early as in 7 years to serve out his sentence because US normally expell prisoners once they have served half their time. In reality he would be freed the moment he sets foot on Danish soil as the act is considered to result in a prison term of 4 years if he had been convicted in Denmark.

What seem strange is that he didn't take an Alford plea, because the Danish investigation did clear him, but perhaps he didn't know about this option because he couldn't afford a lawyer. Justice in the US is equal the ability to finance your defense.

References:
Randers Kommune chokeret over børnesex (Jylland-Posten)
Dane arrested in Stony Brook (The Times Record)
DANISH MAN ARRESTED IN NEW YORK, CHARGED WITH DISTRIBUTING CHILD PORN Justice.gov

A warning against studying in Italy

2010-12-16T06:52:00.000+01:00

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)

Update on a previous post from February

2010-11-09T07:03:00.000+01:00

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)

Parents - prevent your children from traveling with the school

2010-11-02T15:21:00.000+01:00

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)

Mexico - what were they thinking about

2010-10-25T17:30:00.000+02:00

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)

Once again the airline companies demostrate powerplay

2010-08-01T19:10:00.000+02:00

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

An unusual evil punishment

2010-07-03T20:57:00.000+02:00

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

The torment of a Danish soccer player

2010-06-09T20:41:00.000+02:00

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

Studying abroad is equal seclusion

2010-05-10T20:11:00.000+02:00

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:

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

A fair sentence reached in Scotland

2010-04-29T20:04:00.000+02:00

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

Maxwell Mccord - new entry on our webpage

2010-04-02T09:31:00.000+02:00

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:

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

Texting and driving laws should warn tourists - United Kingdom

2010-03-10T20:14:00.000+01:00

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 Czech republic is not ready for tourists

2010-02-18T15:30:00.001+01:00

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.

Protection of kids on other cultures

2010-02-01T10:50:00.000+01:00

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.

Celebrity class I and II - know your position in the Danish society

2010-01-18T21:52:00.000+01:00

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.

Camilla Broe exonerated, but what is the lesson learned

2010-01-06T09:11:00.000+01:00

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

Maybe they should stay at home

2010-01-04T06:26:00.000+01:00

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.

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.

Xenophobia at inside Denmark

2009-12-30T23:10:00.000+01:00

Most Danes remember it. Don't have a night out in another town than the one you are living in unless it is a town located less than than 20 kilometers from where you live. If you choose to do it anyway remember that you are as much a stranger as if you were from the other side of the world.

One of the biggest reality stars in Denmark Susan K made such a decision where she entered a club marked by a very hostile climate against strangers and very soon she found herself set up by the locals. She is now in jail until January 5, 2010 and the charges based on consequences of local xenophobia could mean 60 days in jail. Because she is the person coming from out of town it is very unlikely that she will be cleared of the charges.

The TV-station she currently has a job for acknowledge that she was more victim than perpetrator and have stalled shooting of a show she is part of. In fact the jail sentence can boost her career so she can continue to remain the rolemodel she has been for our youth so far.

But the case show that even Danes have to remain faithful to their local community when it comes to even such a simple thing like socializing in town.

Second it questions the TV-station's precautions when it comes to secure their stars. Surely she should have been warned against partying in an outside town or at least have been equipped with some bodyguards, so she could have avoided the trap the local set up for her. It is old news that a person from another city can be met with a generally evil atmosphere like Susan K saw at Social club in Aarhus.

If we take a case where a person from Aarhus visit Copenhagen, we could observe exactly the same pattern. Stig Tøfting - a soccer player was celebrating the result together with the rest of our national soccer team after the World Championship in 2002. The same hostile environment met him and he was also tricked into defending himself only to learn that the Danish laws for self-defense is basically non-existing. The conviction back then where he was sentenced to 4 month should be a stern warning that taking a night out in a town other than your own is unacceptable. Otherwise you risk falling into a trap.

It is not than uncommon that you are attacked when you are a celebrity like Susan K. In fact just a couple of weeks before the incident she herself was knocked down back in Copenhagen without any kind of warning simply due to her celebrity status. Denmark is the home for the Jante Law. Second based on the origin of the persons who assaulted her, her presence was a kind of provocation because women in their culture is supposed to remain at home leaving only men partying out in town. Maybe this unprovoked assault made her have her guards up when entering the hostile place in Aarhus. None know and because the court where the trial is located is away ground. she cannot expect to be cleared of the charges regardless of the testimonies.

She made a mistake by coming to Aarhus and choosing this nightclub to party in. The television company however made the biggest mistake by poor counseling and missing out on giving her a bodyguard.

Xenophobia at COP15

2009-12-15T23:37:00.000+01:00

Xenophobia against the Danish population is now hitting us inside our own country.
As some might have noticed Copenhagen host the United Nations Climate Council named COP15.

Do we receive any gratitude for hosting this event?

No, we have been using years to prepare it. We had the end document ready to be signed. We made folders in advance to inform people what kind of rules we have in our society. A lot of blogs warned violent protesters from entering Denmark as we as early as May 5, 1872 invented a method to handle violent protesters. This day which we celebrate every year as very important in our culture gave the authorities the solution to handle large out of control mobs.

We even built a new internment based on experiences from the Boer war to house a large number of detainees. Search for “Climate prison” for more information.

Some might think that pre-emptive arrests are a bad thing but in Denmark it has been used for a number of years against football fans who comes from lower social classes and none in general cares about.

Some consultants in personal services even gave their services for free.

But it didn’t prepare us for the criticism from both participants in the meetings and from various common visitors outside.

Why complain about being arrested when we have warned them in advance that they would enter a country which is a state of emergency? Next they weren’t killed like they would have been in most of their native countries if they had tried to do the same peaceful march.

Some might think of Denmark in another way but the damage just by knowing how other nations live has changed the basic in our culture. Police and government find the taste of power good and they want more. That is normal. It is not a ground for any criticism against us Danes. How is your own government doing in that retrospect?

But not only the protesters outside are angry. Sudden some self-proclaimed group called G-77 makes a lot of noise for nothing. Like small children they speak up when they have nothing to say. They should sit down in silence while the adults speak.

Denmark is a proud nation. We have not any past as major power in Africa. We don’t owe them anything due to past behaviors. In fact they live of our aid instead of trying to make a living themselves. Take a country like Zimbabwe. A great hero named Mugabe singlehanded removed Apartheid. While it meant better times for his personal mob of war veterans it was harder to attract investors and to secure Mugabe’s participation at COP15, the high schools students in Denmark did a lot of community work to raise money for the worn down schools in Zimbabwe so Mugabe could show the world that the end of Apartheid was not equal with a total destruction of this country. He entered Denmark today (December 15) so he can lead the African countries.

The disturbance made by protesters outside and inside the conference has however resulted in an increase in security. The secret police arrested some of the participants in the conference today. Their fate will soon be forgotten and I hope that the other protester peaceful or not will understand the message send by these arrests. No other needs to disappear.

As a Dane I am kind of angry about the outcome and criticism. I believe that it is an act of xenophobia. What kind of country wouldn’t turn to mass arrests if they should host a similar conference?

There are many times where I wish that we didn’t volunteer to host this conference in the first place.

Ban on public speech for employees at the Police

2009-11-30T03:44:00.000+01:00

It is with great sadness that dedicated policemen and women can not serve just because they air their frustation over weekends where they have to miss being with their families because youth gangs want to show that they rule the streets.

It was what happen to a policewoman who aired her opinion about youth who burn cars and property causing massive torment, fear and loss of money at the victims.

Why are she not allowed to tell what she mean about such criminals?

Should we honor such youth because they show that they are innovative?

What about the families who get hurt in this process. They go to sleep assured that they have a car in the morning so they can get to work and a dumpster where they can leave their garbage. The next morning they wake up to learn that they have lost both and in some case to learn that they could have been killed if the wind had let the fire spread to their houses or the fire brigade had been too late.

Should we not be able to sleep safely in our bed. Should the employees at the police not tell us how tired they are because there are too few of them?

Of course they should!

I know for a fact that they are proud of their job. They are motivated and handle soccerfans from abroad with both respect and fairness, so things don't get out of hand.

The politicians located far away from the ordinary people want her fired. It doesn't look good in their small world. However 120 of her collegues wants her to keep her job and I have to state that I feel whereever I go that the population wants her to continue as a policeofficer also.

Sometime I sincerely doubt that the politicians want to do good for us citizens.

A very special post

2009-11-27T05:56:00.000+01:00

Normally this blog is about Danes who have been exposed of xenophobia abroad.

But this post is an advice to foreigners to avoid being victim for xenophobia in Denmark.

Most know that the Copenhagen Climate Council is just around the corner. In relationship with this party for the world leaders where they pretend to work for a better world while they enjoy the services of our sex-workers, our good food and our normally fine hospitality, our government has declared state of emergency.

The police can detain you for 12 hours without involvement of the courts and without charging you for a crime if they think you will be participating in a riot in the future - tomorrow or next year.

Prison sentences are tough during the summit.

But foreigners must observe a new rule, which allow the authorities to deport foreigners for participating in a demonstration which turn into riots. Because a lot of the politicians participating in this summit are dictators back home, some protesters will be there for other reasons than the climate. The risk of riots are great, so the safest strategy for foreigners is to remain at home and not enter Denmark.

Please listen to this advice: Ignore the Climate Council.

The politicians have decided that the climate issue is a task for world leaders and high profile politicians only. It is not an issue for you as an ordinary citizen.

I hope you take this advice into your heart. It is for your own good!

The Amanda Knox case force US to protect their exchange students better

2009-10-07T11:39:00.000+02:00

After Amanda Knox, UW tightens rules for study abroad, Seattle PI

There are no question that young adults or teenagers should receive better legal advice and protection so they don't fall victim of a miscarriage of justice like Amanda Knox.

When you are young and naive you are not quiet information about political games going on between your own country and the country you want to study in.

Little could Amanda Knox have known that the Italian government want to have employees of the US state department extradited. Little could she have known about the anger among the Italian population over an accidential shooting of an Italian spy in Iraq or the breach of Italian airspace in connection with the Achille Lauro highjacking. There was simply too much tension so the Italian police could not let her go when they got the chance to arrest her and interview her for so many hours so none could have avoided confessing.

Certain countries should be avioded. Here in Denmark the showtrial against Camilla Broe might never happen as it is too obivious that the charges against her were made only to give the DEA headlines as heros.

However, even her case has resulted in a webpages being created to warn possible Danish citizens from working or studying abroad. It is long overdue. Too many still leave Denmark too young and too naive to make it in a foreign culture where they are exposed of cultural fauna polluting.

Cultural fauna polluting is dangerous. Strange ideas are brought back to Denmark where we now see a huge attack on a vital part of the Danish culture.

We must prepare our youth to remain strong on their values. We don't need another Camilla Broe. Other countries are taking the same approach. May the day come where we can prevent people from living outside their own country.

Todays headline reminds us Danes of an awful time

2009-09-28T23:30:00.001+02:00

Today a Danish soccer player had an accident with his car. He was lucky to escape it with only minor injuries. The speed of his car was not that high. Sources in Denmark speaks of a limited 160 km/hour.

Here in our team we are somewhat worried. Some years back another Danish soccer player was driving home from training. One of his teammates hit a woman. Because this woman ruteless used the oppotunity to take her 5. seconds of fame, he was charged even if he was not in the car that was involved in the accident.

As result he was given a harsh sentence properly based on the fact that he is a Dane and a foreigner in the United Kingdom.

The setence was even harder than his teammate who was involved in the accident.

Just because he is a Danish citizen!

Now we hope that the police would avoid to fall into the trap where xenophobia is the only reason to punish our soccer player.

We will be watchting the authorities. We will not accept racism without criticism of the authorities in the United Kingdom again.

Sources:
United Reserves jailed after Race, CNN
Reds youngsters to be sentenced: Update - jailed

The danish youth learn from Camilla Broe

2009-09-13T14:38:00.001+02:00

This week the newspaper 24 published an article where it was revealed that the number of youth and young adults studying abroad had dropped rapidly.

No wonder as the horrors of the showtrial against Camilla Broe reach us. On the day of her first hearing she spent 13 hours in restraints.

Normally only minors are shackled in the courts of Florida but they still consider her to be the drug lord responsible for the import of 106,000 ecstacy pills. Maybe it is a marketing stunt from the side of DEA only, but transporting her across Miami escorted by not fewer than 6 police cars seems to be a little over the hill considering that the Danish police let her hold a press conference in Copenhagen and she was escorted to the plane not even cuffed.

The Danish youth considering being an exchange student are met with the same concerns our soldiers bound for Afghanistan face. Not only does the family have to fear that something could happen to their young relative during the time abroad, now they also have to fear that the stay could have life long impact on their lives once they return to Denmark. Suddenly they risk to be torn out of their lives regardless if they have live to the letter of the law for decades.

As we know from high profile case like Amanda Knox and Louise Woodward, exchange students are often the first to pick when crime appear where they study. An exchange student will always experience difficulties to adapt to local customs, so they stick out. It happened to Louise Woodward, which now are cleared by modern forensic. It is happening to Amanda Knox.

How it used to be so that once the exchange student returns home the risk is over. That is why cars used by firms often were sold once they returned from a trip abroad. A ticket for speeding could wait the next time the car crossed the border again. But several thousand people have lost their lives since the European Union made it possible to collect fines when the motorist has returned home. The same goes for the case against Camilla Broe. It shows that former exchange students cannot sleep a single night the rest of their lives without fear.

Seen in that retrospect it is better for teenagers considering a year as an exchange student not to go. The fact that families take greater responsibility for the future of their children promise greather times for the country of Denmark.

Is an emergency team for exchange students and other Danes needed?

2009-09-07T16:21:00.001+02:00

The answer to this question must be Yes.

Once a Dane is abroad they don't enjoy the same level of protection as in Denmark. Because Denmark is properly the most sophisticated country when it comes to legal protection, the citizens living or traveling abroad will almost in every case suffer when it comes to just a little contact with local authorities.

When looking for sources related to the show trial in Miami, I found a blog entry demanding better legal protection of Danish citizens abroad regardless if they only had witness a crime. In general Danish citizens should not involve themselves with foreign matters regardless if they can help or make the matter worse. The Camilla Broe cases is a fine example of that a person is placed in a situation where none of the options available at the time can be chosen without the risk of prison or death. I have quoted the blog in full, because I feel that the viewpoint is important both for the Camilla Broe case, but also if being an exchange student should be an option in the future for any youth.

Right now a Danish woman, a former exchange student is detained at the Federal Detention Center in Miami.

Why is she there?

Back in 1986 she entered the United States as an exchange student. Her letters back to
Denmark made the family relocate to Florida where the father was a valued worker. Instead of returning back to Denmark, she remained in Florida and worked in various job.
It was a critical error.
First being exchange student is like owning an ant farm. As an exchange student your purpose is to study the native and often primitive culture. It is not for fun that a full year in a United States high school awards you no credits when returning to Denmark. The curriculum in Danish High Schools is very advanced compared with any kind of education offered in the U.S. Second of all High School Students study for tests instead of taking a critical and analyzing approach to both the teacher and the texts. Third but not least the U.S: High School have no Friday bars like the Danish Schools so the students cannot socialize and unlike Denmark it results in students becoming isolated and some incidents involving shootings done by marginalized youth.
But as an exchange student you should settle with this monitoring of the foreign
culture and not interact or socialize with persons in it. The situation can be compared with the Prime Directive known from Star Trek, but replace pre-warp with plus 500 years of civilization. Of course socializing with the host family cannot be avoided, but exchange students should be content with that. For some this long period of semi-isolation is too much and that is exactly why the relatives in Denmark should pull the exchange student from the exchange program at once.
Camilla Broe did choose to enter a relationship with a man who turned out to be very violent. In fact you can read from a transcript made in a related case how he threatened another man.
Then there is the smuggling operation she is charged with. In fact the first set of charges spoke of conspiracy. Now it is changed to other charges to justify the extradition process. Conspiracy is not a crime in Denmark and that’s why the new set of charges was fabricated within 24 hours before she was extradited.
What did happen was that this man, she had a relationship with, did smuggle drugs into the United States. She lived of the profit due to the relationship as a kind of golden bird in a cage. Once he was arrested she was able to leave the country, which she did in 2001.

Just before she left, she was “asked” to testify against her boyfriend. In the link to the Supreme Court case you can see that the way the question properly was formed as a kind of threat. God only knows what they told her. But she did the only right thing at the moment. She secured the future of her child.
Some year later she charged secretly in Florida. Not until 2007 did anything happen in this case. At that time her boyfriend made a deal where he could leave jail and get deported to Italy where he lives today in exchange to cook enough charges against her, so the charges became so severe that it could justify an extradition process.
Then followed two years of court proceedings in Denmark where the Danish court failed to see that the charge against her was conspiracy which is not a crime in Denmark.
The fact that a charge was in the paper, which does not exist in Danish law, should have stopped the extradition case because the extradition agreement tells that a certain charge must be on an act, which is a crime in both countries. That is not the case here.
She was extradited September 4, 2009. In order to prevent too much disturbance in the press, the government deported 22 refugees to Iraq a couple of days before so their path towards certain death occupied the Danish media and protesters. It seems to work.
She is expected to make a plea of “No contest” because she cannot afford a defense and in United States courts income does make a difference. Second of all the terms of the extraditions agreement grants her a return ticket to Denmark within 6 months after the judge had sentenced her. Also the extradition agreement states that she will be given a new sentence in Denmark because the laws in Florida are not judged as
fair.
The original question which was whether she did to the right thing, the answer must be Yes. Had she stayed in Florida, she might have been spared of the long extradition trial but in a world of plea bargains, which is considered of no morale to participate in, she would have lost anyway. She would have aided a foreign regime and might have criminalized herself by such an aid risking jail for certain paragraphs about espionage according to Danish law.

Now she is of course facing daily torture in a detention center, but it was a loose-loose situation once she broke the “prime directive” of an exchange student. There was no other way not taken.So now you can find all sorts of webpages with warnings for families considering the exchange student experience. People are doing a good job in reducing the number of teenagers in danger. But more can be done.

In United Kingdom they have a branch in their foreign department called Foreign and Commonwealth Office. They have an emergency team ready to rescue citizens in a potential dangerous situation abroad.

Such a service should be available to Danish citizens also, so they can be pulled from whatever situation before they are stuck with the poor choices Camilla Broe had. It doesn’t matter whether they just witness a crime. Whenever it brings them into contact with the local law enforcements, the emergency unit should be able to have them on a
plane within 24 hours bound for Denmark and safety.

The present situation is close to suicide for anyone considering to live or study abroad.
I support the creation of such an emergency team.

Raid of the Brorson church - unfortunately necessary

2009-08-15T12:19:00.000+02:00

I am somehow sad that we had to let our police enter the Brorson Church under the circumstances our government did choose.

But it was necessary.

We have to look at the situation in Iraq. As some may know we supported the United States in the cloned war so Bush Junior could revenge his father and bring Hussein down. It was not an easy job and unfortunately families in Denmark have to bare the grief because several of our service men have lost their lives while trying to liberating the country and maintaining the peace.

So we have a special responsibility to protect these refugees until democracy and security was restored in Iraq. Because Iraq never at any point will be a peaceful Christian country like our regardless of how much democracy they will introduce, we cannot use our own scale to measure if the country is safe. The only people who can state whether Iraq is safe to return to, is the government in Iraq and we must accept their judgment without criticism.

The government in Iraq has stated that they are ready to receive our refugees at least twice per week. Sometime they state that they are not, but translation is often rather difficult from foreign languages to a language as cultivated and difficult as Danish is, so should't we overlook these minor misunderstandings and look at a rather clear sign that they are ready to move on.

This sign came when the government in Iraq took initiative to in-source security tasks which were serviced by private firms from United States and United Kingdom. Firms like Blackwater, which represents the finest in ethics and commitment when it came to solve the task they were assigned.

Some firms did not have time to shut down their operations in time and a young man from the United Kingdom is properly going to be victim of a process of democratization, which has gone faster than anyone could anticipate. The new laws would properly be shut down as distortion of competition if it was an EU-membership country which had introduced such rules, but the goverment of Iraq wants to show that they can do it on their own just as a toddler will try to take on his clothes on his own. It is something just something we have to accept just as any parent must accept that a child grows up.

It is just sad if a normal work accident in such a business should have severe legal consequences for this young man. He should be put on a plane and be tried before a court in the United Kingdom.

But this incident was the sign for the citizens of Denmark to demand that the refugees time in Denmark are over.

It is not been free for us to house them. The country Denmark was in the 1980's before the first Gulf war does not exist anymore. It would be an overstatement to claim that Denmark is even a welfare nation today. This symbol of our welfare - our early retirement solution called "Efterloen" - has been altered so it is worthless. Hardworking people can now look forward to nothing!

If you combine this fact with the strict age-rules regarding purchase of alcohol and tobacco, the extreme fines for speeding on our roads and the existence of private parking firms, which are tormenting the citizens of Denmark, you get a picture of a nation in crisis and a pupulation, which is suffering as bad as countries during wars. The situation is so bad that most refugees estimated from 60 to 70 percent flee from similar circumstances before entering our country in order to seek asylum. It is not their fault that Denmark is seen as a country with a certain surplus. It is the evil and ruthless helpers who direct them to our country which are on the point of breaking under this burden. They are basically cheated and now they don't understand why they have to return home.

I doubt that we ever will be in a position where we can make them understand how hard it has been to house them while watching our own society slowly but steady going down path forwards disintegration. We was not used to be robbed in our own homes and that should be a daily risk to be shot at while walking our streets.

Hopefully they will be able to find peace as productive citizens in the Iraq we have helped them to create.

The Camilla Broe case - candidate for the webpage.

2009-07-04T10:00:00.000+02:00

In recent letters I have received from the Institute, they are talking about adding Camilla Broe to the webpage for Danes who have been exposed of xenophobia.

Who is Camilla Broe?

Back some 15 years she went to the United States where she got engaged to a man from Israel. The next many years she lived as a wife who kept her house and was used as a commercial for the businesses of her husband.

She even gave birth to a girl.

The relationship was violent but because she was young and in a foreign country she was not able to break away from the relationship.

What she didn't know was that her fiancée was a drug lord. Her case is very similar to the well published case of Chantal McCorkel, who also stated to have been naive and in love. So when the police approached her and asked her to testify against her fiancée which is absolutely against all Danish tradition, how could she even if she had the slightest suspicion?

The other members of the drug-ring took plea deals and because they were just as afraid of her fiancee as she was they pointed at her to be the drug lord. Suddenly she was facing 63 years in prison and she wasn't even arrested!

So the first question we as Danes have to ask is: Why did they not arrest her back then if they were going to convict her to that many years in prison? We are talking of almost twice the length of a man jailed in Denmark for shooting 4 unarmed cops. He served only 33 years before being released.

Anyhow she returned to Denmark and started to live a modest life. If she had been the drug lord she would have no need to take a job and remain an unmarried single mom.

For many years she remained an unknown person with no police record and absolutely no involvement with the police. Then suddenly she is arrested in 2007 because the United States wanted it.

The reason for her arrest is that Denmark in the meantime has made a new law targeted against terrorism, which can send Danes to foreign states with no question asked about how the legal rights are protected.

The law did not exist when she lived in the United States. If we should compare it with something it must be the freedom fighters during WWII. In 1942 the Danish prime minister Vilhelm Buhl spoke of the freedom fighters as they were terrorists. After the war he was made prime minister again despite this speak. Suddenly the people who have believed in him based on his 1942 speech and acted on it were transformed from law abiding citizens to criminals and some were executed.

Camilla Broe settled in Denmark based on the laws at the present time. She never broke any laws while living in Denmark. Now she is suddenly labeled as a criminal and about to be sent to her death in Florida.

Death? What about the guarantees Denmark whipped the United States to accept? Is she not going to return to Denmark within 6 months of a possible conviction?

Well these guarantees are none existing. First of all we have the pleas of all the other gang members. Remember that they got decades in discount for naming her as their boss. Some in the prosecutor office made these deals and if Denmark hires a high profile lawyer, he could properly produce evidence which would expose people in the prosecution office as fools who have made deals with the real criminals instead of conducting a real investigation.

Because the job of a prosecutor is an elected job, this means that this job is used for politics. A prosecutor has to produce results if they want to go for the mayor job later in life. They need to silence her or get her to agree to whatever charges they can invent very quickly.

So the minute she arrives in Florida she will be put in the most dangerous jail in Florida among the most feared inmates to break her down. They will try all to get her to take a plea, so they can avoid a trial. And if I had to advice her, I will ask to the take the 63 years in jail regardless of the fact that most speak off that she is innocent.

If she refuse, it can take decades before the trial can start because it is 15 year since they last had knowledge of where the wittnesses were. All that time she would have to remain in a jail in Florida and her little daughter will be lost in the foster care system in Denmark, unless her father - the fiancée living a high profile life in Israel outside the reach of the U.S justice system demands her to be sent to Israel.

It is most likely that she will not survive being extradited to Florida. It is a sick justice system over there and both the prosecution and the other criminals think that she properly knows too much.

Sending her to Florida will be injustice and it would properly kill her.

But is that enough for her to earn an unfortunate place on the webpage?

Yes, I believe that she should be published on the webpage because the case against her in Florida will be based on plea deals meant to frame a foreigner. Being a young naive girl doesn't qualify her to be convicted to a prison sentence only suitable for a drug lord.

What is your opinion?

Here is two links to message boards where the case is debated:

Florida wants to execute a Dane (Fornits - in English language)
Dansk kvinde udleveret til USA (BT message board - in Danish - registration required)

Welcome to this blog

2009-07-04T09:01:00.001+02:00

As we in Denmark are discussing the perhaps latest victim to earn a place on the webpage for Danes who have been exposed of xenophobia abroad, I will like to present what this blog is about.

The webpage on its self have only limited coverage on each of the cases. On this blog I will publish background material on each case so people can learn why those people ended up being placed on this webpage.

I have written with some of the people from the Institute for dissemination of Danish culture and information.

The reason for the existense of the webpage was that Denmark has been critized the recent years.

Presently we have problems with socalled refugees, which don't want to return to Iraq for unknown reasons. We know that Iraq has to be safe. They were travelling down there on holidays from a Swedish airport to cover their tracks. Second of all the government down there wouldn't have accepted to take them back if it was unsafe because then the government would loose face. We just have to get them out because Denmark is undergoing some tough times right now so we have to make it into "It's them or us". The police has even announced that is it considered a criminal act to support them in person for in writing.

Denmark is unfortunately a member of the European Union. The EU is all about harmonization. The concept is that all member states allign their standard on a certain area to the level of the poorest country. Because Denmark's standards on almost everything are second to none, it means that we will suffer until the other countries can caught up with us. For some decades we even have to lower our standards. People will start to starve in Denmark.

Second of all the European rules about immigration allows people from all parts of the Union to come to Denmark and enjoy the benefits in our country without working for them. Our borders are non-existing which have meant a raise in crime. If you have to compare then it is like the United States allowing people from Mexico to enter and work for free without any control.

So it is very clear for all that there is no room for non-productive people in Denmark. So they have to go.

People are also attacking Denmark for the Cartoon war. It is our most proudest moment since the evacuation of Jews during WWII and back then we did it because it paid will. This time we did it because we did feel for it. It is also our single most effective attack on the morale in the war on terrrorism.

But all that negative press put upon our country seem to have resulted in Danes being exposed of xenophobia in raising numbers and that is what the webpage is about.