Denmark has nothing to be ashamed of

Denmark has been getting a lot heat over the past years, the MSM describing her as xenophobic, borderline racist and for shutting down the borders to refugees.

Well, another myth is now shot down. (From the dead tree edition of Jyllands-Posten, apparantly not online.)

The UNHCR has published a report (PDF), which shows that Denmark is the country in Europe that takes in most refugees compared to the number of inhabitants. (Click on image to enlarge)



You will note that Denmark is ranked as #10, with the top nine all being countries in the vicinity of major conflicts. However, Denmark is listed well ahead of countries like the UK (#18) and Canada (#33)
Sweden - probably the country that have been the most indignant at Denmark - is ranking at a miserable number 17.


We are of course talking about refugees here, not immigrants (though many of the former will end up beeing the latter) wich is quite another matter. People fleeing from persecution is entitled to help, and I am actually quite proud that Denmark ranks so high on that list.

Perhaps the Swedes could be persuaded do their bit as well...

Danish troops in Afghanistan

The fiercest fighting Danish troops have been engaged in since 1864. Official estimates: at least 70 taliban who bother anyone anymore.

Damn, I'm proud of our boys.

Jews in Denmark - is there something rotten?

Efraim Zuroff, the Israel Director at the Simon Wiesenthal Center Has a piece in Jerusalem Post about the current situation of jews in Denmark at the moment:

Upon arriving in the center of Copenhagen after an absence of a few years, one can immediately sense the palpable changes in the makeup of the population. Lily-white, blond Denmark has absorbed almost 200,000 Muslim immigrants from south Asia and north Africa over the past two decades and their physical presence is fairly pronounced in the streets of the capital; whether it is women and teenagers with various head-coverings, individuals whose skin color stands out in comparison to the rest of the local population, or the numerous fast-food stands selling shishlik and/or shishkebab.

Their arrival and the growing Islamic militancy of segments of this population have led to a worrying increase in anti-Semitic incidents in a country in which such incidents were practically unthinkable a few years ago. Jewish children are often the object of taunting and harassment by Muslim neighbors and there has been increasingly strident anti-Zionist rhetoric by local Muslim leaders in response to events in the Middle East.

Med Ryggen Mod Murren[sic!] - With our Backs to the Wall - was the name of a day-long conference on anti-Semitism which I was invited to address. It reflects the deep angst among local Jews and supporters of Israel. Held in a hall in Christianborg, the Danish parliament, the program featured presentations on a wide range of topics related to contemporary anti-Semitism worldwide, Israel-bashing and Holocaust denial; but the dominant undercurrent was one of deep concern regarding the local situation.

Zuroff got the spelling wrong on the Danish word for "the wall" - muren, but he stumbled on another, perhaps much more appropiate word - "murren" which means a low rumbling of discontent, something one would experience in the streets just before a (potentially violent) uprising.

On a visit to a friend who lives in the relatively tranquil suburb of Albertslund, my host, by no means a coward, warned me not to make eye-contact with a group of Muslim youths hanging out on a street corner on our way to his home. He also insisted on accompanying me back to my hotel since "People wearing a kippa are not necessarily safe these days in the city center."

Albertslund is not a relatively tranquil suburb [of Copenhagen] It has been a muslim ghetto for decades with very violent confrontations between the immigrants and the by now rather few Danish inhabitants.

Non the less, there is a growing problem with anti-semitism in Denmark. It is, however, a problem that is entirely rooted in the muslim population. Ethnic Danes are not jew-haters.

Egyptian poll: Denmark is second-most hostile

So, there we have it. Sorry US, you have been knocked off the throne: The Big Satan is Israel and The Little Satan is now - tadaaa - Denmark!

A poll in Egypt has revealed, that 92 percent of all egyptians agrees, that Israel is hostile toward Egypt. 60 percent agreed that Denmark is hostile, followed by Britain leaving the US at a measly fourth place!

Damn I'm proud to be Danish! More cartoons, please. And find a way to publish them on Al-Jazeera. We're heading for the gold!


And right now, the Egyptian vice minister of tourism is visiting Denmark, desperatly trying to get more Danes to spend their vacation in Egypt. In 2004, 180.000 Danes traveled to Egypt, a number that dropped to 103.000 last year.

So we may be a bunch of sacrilegious infidels, but our money doesn't smell.