Is this really the welfare state people wanted in Denmark? Less than 50% of the people in Denmark are now working to provide for the other half – more than 50% now get their income from the Danish state, reposts Danish newspaper Politiken today.
To me this sounds pretty bad. It raises a lot of questions, even if – as is the case with Denmark – everybody are provided for economically. To me, participation in the labor market is an important thing – that 50% is outside the labor market does not sound so good.
Also – how fair is this? How does it feel for the half that provides the goods? Not my kind of welfare state!
I always though curling was a boring sport. The game itself is OK, but it takes place on ice with players who are not all that attractive. I thought. But I may have to revise my opinions on the game. Maybe things have changed, or maybe I simply did not see the beauty or the beauties of the game?
The two curling players below certainly are beautiful. They are from a calendar full of similar curling players. Female, that is. And good looking!
Danish newspaper Politiken reports that pre-pubescent Danish girls develop breasts a year earlier than previously. And this seems not to be as a result of their own hormones, according to a new survey from the Rigshospitalet’s Department of Growth and Reproduction. Politiken writes:
“We believe this is a result of environmental factors – hormone disrupting substances that have a strength to develop breasts despite the fact that the girls do not enter puberty. These substances are everywhere – in cosmetics, foodstuffs, paint – everywhere,” says Sr. Lise Aksglæde one of the authors of the report, naming parabenes and phthalates as two of the substances under suspicion.
More than 2,000 Copenhagen girls between five and a half and 20 years of age have taken part in the puberty survey. Half were surveyed in 1992 and 1993 and the rest between 2006 and 2008. Results have been published in the American scientific journal Pediatrics.
Sunstorm is a movie based on the crime fiction novel by the same name, written by Asa Larsson. The movie has English subtexts, but be warned that it is in a non-USA format format, PAL, Region 2.
Starring in this movie are Antti Reini and Göran Forsmark. It is directed by Leif Lindblom. It received rave reviews in Scandinavia.
Actors: Antti Reini, Göran Forsmark, Henrik Gustafsson, Izabella Scorupco, Jakob Eklund and Leif Lindblom
This movie it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD players. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: Swedish with Danish, English, Finnish and Norwegian subtitles.ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Alternative Footage, Deleted Scenes, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, Trailer(s).
SYNOPSIS: On the floor of a church in northern Sweden, the body of a man lies mutilated and defiled – and in the night sky, the aurora borealis dances as the snow begins to fall.
A young Norwegian couple in their 20’s has proved that it possible to drive at a speed of 123 kilometers an hour on a highway and have sex. However, they were unfortunate and were stopped by the police between the cities of Drammen and Asker on their way to Drammen. The police observed that the car was not driving straight, turned on the video, followed them for a little while, saw that there were two people in the driver seat, and stopped them.
As it turned out, the young lady was sitting in the man’s lap, and they were in the middle of an intercourse. The man lost his driver’s license, while the young lady kept hers and was allowed to drive the car home after the little incident!
A new report from the the Swedish Confederation for Professional Employees (TCO) cited in Swedish online newspaper The Local, reports that there is considerable ethnic discrimination in Sweden.
The results show clearly that foreign-born graduates of Swedish universities have less chance of finding a job that equates to their qualifications than their Sweden-born counterparts. Those that do find work, are often over qualified and have to work harder to find it.
The study was performed by integration researcher Lena Schröder based on Statistics Sweden (SCB) data compiled on all those graduating from a Swedish university in 2003 and their employment situation in 2006. The Local writes:
The report does however show that education pays, for all. But a Swedish university education pays less for those born in eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America and especially for those arriving in Sweden after age of seven (when primary education begins).
These findings raise questions about the Scandinavian welfare states’ integration policies. In the US, companies are forced to monitor their hiring and promotion decisions closely in order to avoid very costly law suits. So to a large extent, non-discriminatory policies are enforced by the legal system. In Scandinavia much softer methods have been used to promote integration, relying to a large extent on labor unions and voluntary compliance.
Denmark has been hit very hard by the international recession. Private consumption has dropped rapidly. Car sales are hit especially hard. The Danish newspaper Politiken writes:
Car sales are generally a good indicator of whether people are hanging on to their money; In the fourth quarter of 2008 car sales dropped no less than 23.8 percent. Other goods dropped 1.1 percent.
The new figures come the day after new unemployment figures showed an increase for the fourth month in a row. January jobless figures showed an increase of 5,000 with unemployment now at 2.3 percent.
The Danish GDP for the year 2008 as a whole is negative. And, as yet, there a few signs that the drop in the Danish economy is declining.
The sadly deceased Scandinavian crime writer Stieg Larsson’s book The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is selling more and more, both in the UK and in the US. Also, Steig Larson’s second book, The Girl Who Played with Fire is high in the hardback charts. The third and last book in the Millenium trilogy is due this fall.
And now the Swedes have almost finished the first movie based on these fabulous books! Here is a teaser from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo:
The top fell off for Russian ice skater Ekaterina Rubleva as she danced with Ivan Shefer on the ice. The russian figure skater was being twirled around by her partner, Ivan Shefer, when her costume started to slip.
The 23-year-old world class skater is extremely professional, and kept smiling, but with the next move, which required her partner to hold her hand above her head, the inevitable happened. And here is the result:
PS: You can see more beautiful pictures of world class athletes in this article from Bild!
It started with a false SMS (text) chain message, which stated that “McDonald’s will donate all the money they are making today, Saturday, to Israel”.
That was enough. In the very tense situation in Oslo, the mob did not stop to think, nor check the sources of the message. They just acted. And totally wrecked all the McDonalds they came across in the center of the city!
The odd piece of information, strange facts, comments on news, ranting and rambling. Kicks and licks. Fun, irony and sarcasm, often, though, with some serious intention.
I live and have lived in Europe and the US. I like both.
I’m nekkid, so no need to undress me. Don't bite me. I much prefer stroking.
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Four 
The odd piece of information, strange facts, comments on news, ranting and rambling. Kicks and licks. Fun, irony and sarcasm, often, though, with some serious intention.
I live and have lived in Europe and the US. I like both.
I’m nekkid, so no need to undress me. Don't bite me. I much prefer stroking.
