TresSugar

Should Obama Put Global Warming at the Top of His List?

CitizenSugar — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:00:39 -0800

President Obama has his hands full with the economy, Iraq, Afghanistan, and healthcare reform. Now, Denmark is piling a task on his to-do list. The Scandinavian country's minister for climate and energy said Obama must push through laws fighting global warming ASAP. If Congress manages to pass, say, a cap-and-trade law, the US would set a powerful example for developing countries.

International leaders will meet in Copenhagen this December with the intention of creating an alternative to the Kyoto agreement, a treaty George W. Bush refused to sign. Everybody's looking to Obama to signal that he will take on global warming, unlike his predecessor.

Would you like to see comprehensive environmental legislation passed by the end of the year?

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US Plant Fires Praying Workers, Denmark Stops Fasting Kids

LibertySugar — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:01:01 -0700

An unprecedented conflict has erupted between Muslim workers and management at JBS Swift & Co.'s Colorado meat packing factory, regarding when employees can pray in observance to Ramadan. Over 200 workers walked out during a shift, since management would not give them an official sunset break for prayer. As a result, the company fired half of them.

The union plans to file suit, but hopes the employees will get their jobs back without a court-battle. Right now, many that still have jobs have offered financial help to those who got fired. Sounds like the Swift plant has a different approach to Ramadan than the Tyson plant in Tennessee that agreed to give union workers the end of Ramadan off instead of Labor Day.

Meanwhile in Denmark, a municipal committee in Odense decided to call for principals and parents to stop children who are fasting for Ramadan. City officials say it's not so much politics or religion that prompted the push against fasting, but concerns over student health and ability to lean while hungry.

How should employers and teachers accommodate those observing Ramadan?

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Danish Sitcom Stars Bumbling Terrorists Plotting an Attack

LibertySugar — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:30:17 -0700

The Danes will soon confront terrorism in their front rooms. A new sitcom, The Terror Cell, follows the lives of terrorists conspiring in Denmark. The main characters include:

Osama: a businessman who sees terrorism as a money maker
Abdul: a convert to Islam who acts as if he can't kill enough people
Ali: a Pakistani who won a competition for the honor of avenging the Danish cartoons degrading the Prophet Muhammad

Living in a rundown Copenhagen apartment, these terrorists escape detection because their closest neighbor, an elderly woman, believes World War II has not ended and the men are hiding from the Germans. While pretending to be integrated Muslims, the members of the cell plan an attack in Denmark. Each episodes ends with the incompetent terrorists blowing themselves up, only to be returned to earth by Allah in time for the next episode.

To see how the approach of the show's creator differs from other Danish critics of Islam, read more.

Unlike a Danish politician who recently criticized Islamic extremists by using graphic video and violent verses from the Koran, The Terrorist Cell's creator Omar Marzouk opts for jokes as his vehicle for social commentary. Omar, a Muslim born in Denmark, thinks his country dodges a serious discussion about the its strict immigration policies and sometimes negative role in the Middle East. Do you think satire will help get the conversation started, or should societies never joke about terrorism?

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Which Countries Are Most Corrupt? Not New Zealand, Denmark

CitizenSugar — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:00:59 -0700

Money could very well be the root of all evil - though in the latest study of corrupt countries, it's actually the lack of money that sparks trouble. The new report by Transparency International found that in two-fifths of the world's nations, corruption continues to intensify - a trend that can be traced to economic realities. In the countries found to be the most corrupt, 40 percent are classified by the World Bank as low income.

Transparency International's rankings range on a scale from 10 (on the up-and-up) to 1 (rampant corruption). How common is corruption? Of the 180 countries surveyed, 132 of them had scores below a 5. Other factors that contribute to a cloudy ethical picture are weak governments and conflict. The chairman of Transparency International says, "Countries torn apart by conflict pay a huge toll in their capacity to govern. With public institutions crippled or nonexistent, mercenary individuals help themselves to public resources, and corruption thrives."

View 5 Photos ›

Another troublesome mix? Weak government plus plentiful natural resources, like in Equatorial Guinea where 30 percent of the newly discovered oil profits go straight to government officials' wallets. To see which countries ranked where, read more.

The Top Three Least Corrupt: New Zealand (pictured), Denmark (not corrupt and happy!) , and Finland win with scores of 9.4 out of 10. Wealth, stable economies, and a removal from international controversies keep them corruption-free.
The Two Most Corrupt: Somalia and Myanmar. With scores of 1.4 out of 10, the armed conflict, political oppression, and troubles from Mother Nature (Myanmar's horrific cyclone) and pirates (Somalia) corruption is undeniable.
Third and Fourth Place: Iraq and Haiti, respectively. Afghanistan comes in at #7.
Three Countries in Africa Who've Improved: Seychelles, South Africa, and Swaziland all made gains from six to 37 places.
Five Countries Out of Africa With Improvements: Croatia, the Czech Republic, Macedonia, Romania, and Italy. Transparency International points to the European Union accession process on the fight against corruption.

I don't know, but if Denmark keeps winning prizes for being great, they better expect a lot of visitors. What do you think is the biggest contributor to corruption?

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Lykkelig! Danes Top List As Happiest in a Happier World

LibertySugar — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:45:37 -0700

The world is happier - thanks to economic growth, democracy, and social tolerance, according to the World Values Study. The findings contradicted the assumption that regardless of changing variables, happiness remains constant.

The researchers credit relative quality of life improvements for the global rise in happiness; for example, low-income societies like China experienced economic growth while developed societies saw a rise in equality and tolerance. Denmark is currently the happiest country and Zimbabwe takes last place. Check out the pictures bellow of the happy Danes.

View 5 Photos ›

The United States ranks 16th. To find out which countries beat the US, read more.

Residents in Puerto Rico, Columbia, Ireland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, Sweden, and New Zealand all report higher rates of life satisfaction than those living in the US. What about you? How would you answer the researchers' question: All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?

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They've Got Beauty Covered - the Miss Headscarf Pageant

CitizenSugar — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:00:13 -0700

A Danish television station held a “Miss Headscarf 2008” beauty contest to show “cool Muslim women who often make up a very fashion-conscious and style-confident part of the Danish street scene.” The hope behind the pageant was to quell the controversy over calls for a ban on Islamic dress in public and foster healthy debate.

One behind the pageant says, "We would like to contact all the Muslim women who are seldom heard in the debate but are often just as preoccupied with fashion and beauty as other women." Entrants in the pageant don't have to be Muslim, they just need to submit a photo of themselves wearing a headscarf. One of the contestants in her video says, "It's about the time the media talked to us, and not about us all the time."

Not everyone thinks it's a great idea. To see why not, the BBC video of the story, and the winner, read more.

This idea is widely criticized by Islamic traditionalists, one of whom, a spokesman for the Islamic Society, said: “I strongly advise the girls to shun the competition," and went on to compare the women competing to nuns competing in a beauty pageant. This is the second conflict Danish media has had with Islamist fundamentalism since 2005 when a newspaper depicted the image of the prophet Mohammed, which sparked outrage and the threats of attack. The winner of the controversial contest is 18-year-old Huda Falah.

Can a contest like this foster healthy debate and a greater understanding of women in the faith? Does the very notion of the pageant go against their religion?

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Sexy or Sexist? Racy Ads Still Sell in Sweden

LibertySugar — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:00:07 -0700

The birthplace of the Ikea flat-pack also finds itself home to some pretty controversial ads. Unlike its Scandinavian neighbors, Sweden does not ban advertisements insulting to women. Considering advertising a form of free speech, Sweden allows sexist images - such as nurse lying on a bed with male underpants covering her face. Such an ad, showing a woman in a demeaning position, would be banned in the countries next door.

In Denmark and Norway sexual and sexist images are forbidden unless they are relevant to the product. According to the BBC, the strict laws forbid anything that could make a viewer take offense or feel uncomfortable. Firms that do not remove inappropriate material are fined about $100,000 - though many businesses welcome the fine as a small price to pay for increased publicity. Head of Norway's association of the country's top advertising agencies says of their standards, "we're not that Puritan that you can't have naked bodies. But it has to be done in the right way, with charm and passion."

Do you agree with Sweden that sexist ads should be protected under freedom of speech? Norway and Denmark's ban on anything offensive seems like a pretty subjective standard. But do you think it would be easy to determine what crosses the line? Is it charm and passion or censorship gone wild in Denmark and Norway?

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My Country's Better Than Your Country! Who's More Stable?

LibertySugar — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 09:00:04 -0700

I always thought the United States was associated with wealth and stability. Well, apparently not according to the latest rankings of country stability and prosperity. The US is ranked 22nd, with a still respectable score of 93 out of 100, coming in behind Ireland, Portugal, Denmark, Australia, and France, to name a few.

Iraq just escaped the bottom ten, thanks to the high number of foreign troops and high level of oil revenue. But Afghanistan came in as the world's third most unstable country, thanks to its government's inability to control large regions of the country, and the fact that opium accounts for 50 percent of the economy.

Jane's Country Risk, the group that conducted the one year investigation, said that the proliferation of small arms (aka guns) owned by Americans, and dangerous drug trafficking on the Mexican border led to the US's drop in the rankings.

And who's number one? To find out read more.

The Vatican, with its population of 821 people, is the world's most stable country.

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Heading to Ikea? Shopping For "Cultural Imperialism?"

CitizenSugar — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:00:16 -0800

I don't know too many houses that don't contain an Ikea doodad or two (hundred, in my case) but I had no idea that I was disrespecting my Danish heritage with my love of the ISERUD. So the story is this: the Danes are accusing Swedish home-furnishings giant Ikea of cultural imperialism because in the wacky Ikea naming scheme, it turns out all of the doormats, floor coverings, and less-than-glamorous items are given Danish names, while the fancy things like beds and sofas are all Swedish, Norwegian, and Finnish names.

The Danes claim Ikea is walking all over them. Literally.

After an analysis of the Ikea catalog by two university scholars led to this finding:

Doormats and runners, as well as inexpensive wall-to-wall carpeting, are third-class, if not seventh-class, items when it comes to home furnishings.

If this all sounds like a bunch of FARTYG to you, read more.

Denmark does have a rocky past with their Nordic neighbors. A whole passel of wars, peace treaties, and diplomatic efforts have created today's Scandinavian borders. Norway belonged to Denmark until Sweden stole it and gave it independence 100 years ago. Even the land where Ikea was based used to belong to Denmark. Sigh. I guess that's the way the Danish Butter Cookie crumbles.

So . . . does Denmark have a case? Do I have to boycott Ikea now? I don't think I could. Could you?

And here's an added treat akin to those cinnamon rolls they tempt you with on the way out - the great Manhattan Ikea pilgrimage.

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Front Page: Barack and Michelle Go For the Gold in Denmark

TresSugar — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:00:45 -0700

Michelle Obama promises "take no prisoners" when she and Barack go to Denmark Thursday with hopes of nabbing the 2016 Olympics for Chicago. - CNN
The US plans to economically isolate Iran if the country does not allow international inspectors in to examine its nuclear program. - Washington Post
At least 240 people have died in the Philippines as a result of severe flooding. - Wall Street Journal
An overreach by Roman Polanski's lawyer may have been behind the director's arrest. - NY Daily News
Predictably, abortion is complicating the healthcare debate. - New York Times
Things are looking good for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, after she won re-election over the weekend. - New York Times