Street violence in Sweden

The fatal beating last Friday of a teenager outside a party venue in central Stockholm has had a profound effect on Sweden’s youngsters and parents. Thousands are expected to gather in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö today to demonstrate against street violence. The incident has led to soul-searching in some parts of the media about whether children are left to their own devices more than is good for them, and has left people asking whether this traditionally peaceful society is becoming inured to violence. But it has also led to constructive debate about how parents and children alike can work to make sure that streets, and schools can be made safer.

Cartoon

Your new house for free!

The local government of Rotterdam is giving away houses for free. Unfortunately the houses are completely neglected and need to be renovated, which is a condition that has to be met for the ‘lucky’ owner.

‘The Ball Boy’

Even the ball boys along the side of a game can have there small influence on the opposition. For example here during Tottenham Hotspur (ENG) – Anorthosis Famagusta (CYP)

Click here: ‘The Spurs Ball Boy’ 

Cartoon

Dutch and Danes love the bicycle

A new study from the European Union indicates that only the Dutch can outdo the Danes for having the most bicycle-oriented culture.

Nearly 24 percent of Danes polled said the bicycle was their preferred means of daily transport, while just over 13 percent indicated they preferred the bus, train or subway to get from place to place.

The results of the study should come as no surprise to Copenhageners or visitors in the nation’s capital: special lanes and traffic lights for bikes are a fixture on most roads, and crossing the street means looking out for both four- and two-wheeled traffic.

In addition, the International Cycling Union (UCI) officially named the city as the world’s first Bike City earlier this year.

Denmark is well above the EU average in its love for the two-wheeler. Of the union’s nearly 500 million residents, only 8.7 percent said that the bicycle would be their first choice for transport, while 20.6 percent prefer public transport.

In the Netherlands, a full 40 percent of the population prefer the bicycle over other means of transport. The automobile was found by the study to be the number one choice for transport in the EU.
 

Catherine Tate: Look at my face, I’m not bothered!!

Check out this really funny sketches of Catherine Tate as ‘Lauren’ See first nr 1..

(1) Working at Billy Burger Bar

(2) Working at Downing Street with Tony Blair 

Cartoon

Traditional Danish dish

Dairy companies are praising the warm weather for its effects on koldskål sales, which are at an all-time high, reported public broadcaster DR.

Koldskål – literally ‘cold bowl’ – is a refreshing citrus-flavoured dairy product consisting primarily of eggs, sugar, buttermilk, vanilla and lemon juice. It is traditionally eaten during the summer, usually with a spoon, and commonly flavoured with crushed, sweetened biscuits.

While it is not uncommon that koldskål is homemade, most people buy it pre-made in milk cartons from the supermarket. The nation’s largest dairy company, Arla, reported that sales for the item are moving at a record pace this year.

Good to know a good Danish dish!

Stricter security at Danish national stadium

The Danish national football team’s fans have been asked to keep an eye on potential troublemakers to prevent spectators from rushing the pitch.
 
The Danish Football Association (DBU) and Copenhagen’s Parken Stadium unveiled plans Wednesday for tightening security during national football matches.

The move came after a Danish football fan rushed the field in the closing minutes of a qualifying match against Sweden earlier in the month. The fan tried to grab the referee, who then stopped the match and subsequently gave Sweden the win, much to the anguish of the sold-out crowd and football fans across the country.

In the aftermath of the match, UEFA, European football’s governing body, sided with the referee and ruled that Denmark would lose its home field advantage in Copenhagen for the next four matches.

While DBU is currently seeking a replacement stadium with enough capacity to host the four qualifying matches, Parken Stadium has begun working to ensure it can manage crowds in the future when the national team returns to Copenhagen.

At a press conference, DBU and Parken stated that the team of nearly 300 stadium guards did an adequate job in controlling the crowd, but they agreed more could be done to prevent fans from entering the pitch.

Among the measures adopted to deter fans from rushing the field: a hefty DKK 10,000 fine (EUR 1350) for offenders.

In addition, Parken is considering creating an extended, horizontal fence similar to the one recently installed at Wembley Stadium, which still provides a good view for spectators.

Cartoon

It’s Final!

 

Yesterday I explained that the Minister wants to have smoking free restaurants, cafe’s, pubs, hotels etc. Today, the Dutch Cabinet has decided that it will go ahead with the proposal of Dutch Health Minister Ab Klink!

So from 1 July 2008 this will be implemented in the Netherlands and no more stupid smoke! 

Finally, thank you!

Yes!!

In hopefully one more year of sitting in smoke it will be over! The Dutch Health minister Ab Klink is sticking firm to earlier pledges to introduce a total ban on smoking in cafés, bars and restaurants by July 2008. The cabinet is due to discuss the ban on Friday.

Klink wants to move ahead quickly with a ban because of the damage smoking causes to health. There is already a smoking ban in workplaces and this must now be extended to the hospitality industry, he says. 

The hospitality lobby group Horeca Nederland wants the ban to be introduced in phases, arguing that cafés and discos are not yet ready for a total ban, which according to them should be in 2011.

Holland’s hundreds of coffee shops, where people can buy small amounts of cannabis, would also be covered by the ban. A majority of MPs said in March they did not support a ban in coffee shops because they were places people deliberately went to smoke.

Dutch Donor show boosts donor numbers in Denmark

The Dutch publicity stunt about organ donorship appears to have sparked an interest among Danes to register as donors.

In the past week alone, Copenhagen’s Rigshospital has registered more than 2100 referrals to the national donor registry.

In The Big Donor Show, as you of course heard of, three contestants tried to convince a woman she should donate her kidneys to them. Health officials and media critics blasted the show and tried to prevent its airing, claiming it took reality TV too far, but it turned out to be fake.

The increase in donor registrations in Denmark was welcomed, however, by Ib Gaarde-Nissen, the chairman of an umbrella organisation for patients in need of an organ transplant.

‘The Dutch broadcast seems to have inspired discussions in people’s living rooms and has gotten them to consider the issue of organ transplants,’ Gaarde-Nissen told Berlingske Tidende newspaper.

While Nissen admitted the show’s methods might have been extreme, he suggested they might be necessary to gain the attention of an apathetic public.

Nearly 500,000 people are registered as organ donors in Denmark. Last year, 252 Danes received either a new heart, liver, lung or kidney.

On an annual basis, there is a need for the following:

35-40 hearts
40-50 livers
80-100 lungs
300-350 kidneys

Danish Parliament’s last day before summer

Last Friday was the last day the Danish Parliament had to be together, because they already have holiday! Wow, thats early!

Here, the prime minister praised his government for creating high employment and reducing debt but opposition parties want more money for public service
 
A record surplus in the state’s finances and the lowest unemployment rate in 30 years were the key points made by the prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, as parliament wrapped up its 2007 spring term Thursday.

In a marathon day of debate lasting well over 12 hours, the government focused on the strong economy while opposition parties lamented the cutbacks in the social welfare system. But Rasmussen defended his government’s record over the past five plus years.

‘It’s going tremendously well in Denmark,’ he told the assembly. ‘We have freedom, peace and progress, and we have open-mindedness and democracy.’

But the opposition was not to be smooth-talked away from its own concerns. Municipalities lack of funds for health care, day care and education was the primary sticking point for them in the debates Thursday.

‘I understand well when Danes routinely ask each other how it can be that we have so much money we can almost buy the world, but we still can’t afford the corresponding services for day care, schools, nursing homes and hospitals,’ said Helle Thorning-Schmidt, leader of the Social Democrats.

Parliament will convene again in October (!?)

Google Maps Street View

This is cool! Google gave their 2D maps an incredible realworld addition. Its a street-view, that in certain cities, will let you get a street side view of the area you are currently in. It will also let you move along the street in a smooth manner and even more amazing it will let you change your angle and continue moving that way.

Where did they get this from? They are working with Immersive Media, a company that has an eleven lens camera capable of taking full, high-res video while driving along city streets. Each captured pixel is geotagged and primed for consumer use. Their main clients up till now have been city planners and the defense industry.

You can ‘walk’ on the streets of Denver, Las Vegas, Miami, New York and San Francisco, but probably there will be more soon and maybe also our European cities?!

Click on this link to see a promo movie of how it works: Street View

Already there have been found some funny street views: click here 

Back Online!

After having Internet problems, I’m back online with some good music!

Peter Björn and John – Young Folks  (Swe)

Bens Brother – Rise (UK)

Cherry Ghost – People Help The People (UK)

The Veils – Calliope (UK)

Tiny Dancers – Hannah We Know (UK)

Snow Patrol – Signal Fire (UK)

Dashboard Conessional – Stolen (US)

Brandi Carlile – The Story (US)

Arctic Monkeys – Fluorescent Adolescent (UK)

Sugarplum Fairy – Marigold (Swe)

Denmark’s biggest sporting name ever…

  

….admits to using performance-enhancing drugs

Bjarne Riis, the 1996 winner of the Tour de France, admitted Friday that he used EPO, a performance-enhancing drug, from 1993 to 1998.

Riis has consistently denied using performance-enhancing drugs, most recently in August 2006. With his statement today, he becomes the first rider to admit being drugged when winning the gruelling three-week Tour de France.

‘I was rider in the period that is being debated right now. I have done things I regret. I took EPO and it was a part of my day.’

Riis added though using using the drug made him an unworthy Tour de France winner, he said that ‘the experience and the memories’ of being a champion cyclist will stay with him forever. ‘You can’t change the past. What I want to do is change the future. I will fight for that.’

Now the owner of Team CSC, Riis told reporters that the reason for coming forward today was to shield his riders from the intensifying media speculation over whether he had used EPO.  ’I am doing this to make sure that the hard work I have done for the team isn’t interfered with.’

More riders to come?!

More Rats in Copenhagen

Most of us find them disgusting. Some say they make great pets, but no matter who’s counting, the number of rats in Copenhagen has been increasing yearly and the city’s environmental agency acknowledges the trend presents a health problem.

After the media published a story this week about a nine-month-old baby who was bitten on the face and tongue by a rat as he slept in his pram, the issue has come to the news forefront.

Kai Fusager Johnsen of the agency’s Center for Environment and Pest Control said most rats live underground and only come above ground when there are sewage problems, though there can be other reasons for the many reports.

‘There’s a clear increase and there can be many causes. The weather has been mild, which has led to more residents being outdoors and seeing rats, but it has also given the rats better opportunities to multiply.’

Last year the agency received 3944 rat reports, a number that has increased annually over the past five years. Denmark’s next three largest cities, Århus, Aalborg and Odense, have not experienced the same increase.

The agency’s Kim Maimann said that rats are generally shy creatures that avoid human contact, but are also very curious. He was shocked at hearing the report of the baby being bitten.

The city’s environmental agency has set up a special 15-man team that works specifically to combat the rat problem. But the agency said residents themselves should ensure their plumbing works properly and recommends having a rat filter installed in the system.

Cartoon