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Are they rigging the competition? The conclusion seems to be we have low expectations. But the social welfare system is also given due credit. Welcome to Denmark, the advice of the student to American viewers at the end of this clip is quite telling: “Don’t believe in the American dream, I think you might get disappointed.” Here’s another clip.

This guy is our new Prime Minister again:

So, the right wing Liberal government led by prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen continues for another term. And the most depressing thing about the election is actually that turn out was excellent (82%) and voting was fair – but the Danish public still voted for the anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim Danish People’s Party in huge numbers. It remains the third biggest party of the country.

I didn’t follow the elections closely this time. It was very rushed and the outcome was pretty much predicted from the start. Also, I am no longer allowed to vote, because my genius government believes I am less Danish if I have lived outside the country for more than 2 years. Or maybe it’s just that I am less likely to vote for a bigot?

One of the interesting things about these elections is the way the internet has factored in. In the United States they say 2004 was the first “internet election”. Presidential candidates discovered blogs, online fundraising, and social networking. Danish media and politicians have had a comparable epiphany in 2007 with the supercharged additions of Facebook, YouTube, and Google map APIs. If you read Danish, the regional RSS aggregator Overskrift.dk has some great analysis of which politicians blogged, who blogged about them, and what they all talked about.

I need to join this group. After my next snooze.

Finally, it seems I may have found support from an unexpected source — Denmark’s B-Society. This pressure group advocates the rights of ” B-people” who, like me, are sluggish and bed-bound first thing, but whose energy spikes in the evening.

I am so sick of Danish news articles about immigrants and immigration that are written as though immigrants themselves were not reading the newspapers. Danish journalists write as though they were carrying on a very private conversation between themselves and other “real” Danes.

Well, here’s a piece of breaking news – Danish immigrants actually watch Danish television. It took a research company called MediaCom more than 1000 interviews with families originating in different countries (that have very little to do with one another) to discover this.

D’uh. They live here! Of course they watch it, and their kids watch it too. And so what if they also watch Disney Channel, CNN, and… (wait for it)… Arabic satellite TV? A number of Danish newspapers and television stations all quoted the same Danish professor who has researched media and ethnic minorities.

He says, “It points in the direction of a strengthening of consumption of Danish media among ethnic minorities, and nuances the hypothesis (sic) about it being so dangerous that they are sitting watching satellite TV from their home country and thereby isolating themselves from Danish society.”

What hypothesis?? If we want immigrants to feel included in Danish society a good start would be to stop talking about them like they’re not listening. For the record, I would like to let Homeland Security in the United States know, that I occasionally watch Danish television on the internet while living in New York. I would also like to confess that I have watched Hispanic television at my grandmother’s house in Puerto Rico.

Anybody who thinks an Arabic soap opera is dangerous – or God forbid news from a different perspective – really needs to get out of the house more. You don’t automatically isolate yourself from a society by looking outwards and beyond it.

Here’s one more election related post, since the Danish prime minister is expected to call elections any day now. In 2006, I got together with two other net-savvy gals, Mary Joyce and Zephyr Teachout to write a short guide to blogging elections. It’s probably due for an update by now, but Mary recently sent me an email with a new link to the guide so I thought I would share. Anybody who’s thinking about blogging effectively about elections may find inspiration here.

Yesterday, I wrote a short post on Blogbyblog about the new online efforts of two Danish members of parliament, and was happy to see a direct response from one of them within 24 hours of writing the post. I guess it’s one of the benefits of coming from a small country – all I ever got from Hillary Clinton in the United States was a standard email written by someone else.

The commenting politician is Ellen Trane Nørby. She is the media spokesperson for the Danish liberal party (Venstre), and she is on Flickr, Skype, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube, and also has her own blog. Ellen says she agrees with me that using services like this will get more exciting when they are used to involve citizens actively in the political process rather than as tools for simple self promotion. Political comparisons aside, she’s no Segolene Royal. Yet.

The other politician I mentioned is social democrat Mogens Lykketoft. He has a new website, which he introduces with the following video. You don’t have to speak Danish to see that the level of ambition for what he expects citizen to do with his website is pretty limited. I don’t know why he writes down words like YouTube on cardboard cards while he says them. Cute? Or patronizing?

I don’t really mean to criticize the effort, but it would be nice for politicians to speak to citizens like thinking adults with useful views (Here’s one idea: better microphone). His next videos are much better, but only because he sticks with the politics.

I can’t believe I just left my new (used) bicycle standing on the sidewalk without securing it to a permanent structure. My gut tells me it will get stolen. My brain reminds me that this is Copenhagen not New York – and anyway the shiny silver bike standing next to it would be a far more attractive steal.

Imagine my surprise to step into the elevator at Denmarks Radio and hear it announce the floor numbers in my own voice. Several years ago in London, I did a voice-over for a company that was making an elevator device that speaks all the Nordic languages. I voiced all the floors from -3 to 99 and several commands like, “This elevator is overloaded” and “Please remain calm, help is on the way”. I never thought I would experience it myself, and trust me it’s difficult to ride the elevator with co-workers without chiming in on “Doors closing”, “Going up”. Eeek! I’m a professional elevator.

One of the hubs of the Danish community in New York
is the Danish Seaman’s Church in Brooklyn. I haven’t actually been there yet, but I’ve gone as far as signing up to their mailing list. I’m pretty sure you don’t need to be baptized to participate in the new beginners classes in Danish they are offering on Mondays for the reasonable price of 200 dollars for 15 lessons (although a little praying might make it easier for non-Danes to pronounce “rød grød med fløde”).

Yes. And it’s nearly all sold out.