Hello, Readers! I’m excited to announce that my books Meet the Danes and It doesn’t matter, you’ll be okay will be available as part of a promotion on Smashwords for the month of July as part of their Annual Summer/Winter Sale! This is a chance to get my books, along with books from many other great authors, at a discount. You will find the promo here starting on July 1: https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos/ Please share this promo with friends and family. Thank you for your help and support! Happy reading ..read more

I’ve written a few times about the striking discrepancy between the famously happy Danes and the dissatisfaction of the foreigners in their midst (most recently here). It’s clear from the annual surveys of expats and also from occasional outbursts on Facebook from transplants who lament the lack of a social life and long to tell the Danes where to shove share their Legos. Looks appealing enough. Photo by Stella Rose on Unsplash. Now there’s a new study that attempts to clarify the problem. It comes with the catchy title “The Dark Side of Hygge: Acculturation of foreign workers in Denmark.” H ..read more

On 5 June, Denmark’s Constitution Day, politicians from all parties hold speeches around the country. This year, one of them was conspicuously absent. In fact it was the country’s leader, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. She had a scheduling conflict, and the other invitation proved more appealing. Who could blame her? It was a non-job interview at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, USA, in the Oval Office. Lookin’ at you, Vlad! Photo by Marek Studzinski on Unsplash. The visit was officially described as a periodic checkup on security issues between two stalwart Western allies. But speculation had b ..read more

New developments in some stories I’ve covered previously. Schools for nerds I wrote recently about pressure on educational standards from immigrant populations and an increase in private school attendance. Now another school for high-IQ kids (DK) has opened in Aarhus, the Leonardo School, the fifth of its type in the country. Earlier this year, the government appointed an expert panel to determine how to identify gifted pupils and offer them educational opportunities that fit their needs and let them thrive. Danish summer starts on 1 June. Photo by Marten Bjork on Unsplash. Parents of the br ..read more

While in Parliament the government continues to fend off the bill to ban the gender transitioning of minors, Denmark’s Eastern High Court has rendered a judgment on another dicey aspect of transgender exceptionalism (DK). A convict at Herstedvester [Men’s] Prison has lost her appeal to be transferred to a women’s correctional facility. This unnamed 62-year-old, who six years ago changed her gender (juridisk kønsskift) to “woman” in a legal sense (and is therefore entitled to pronominal “respect”), is still an intact biological male. She sued the prison system, arguing that it is a violation of ..read more

While the United States has opened the floodgates for tens of thousands of migrants at its Mexican border after the expiration of Title 42 restrictions, Denmark recently made some incremental adjustments to the rules on work and residence permits in order to boost its qualified labor force. The country has been criticized for its stringent immigration policies, but like the rest of Europe, it has seen the average number of children per woman fall below the replacement rate of 2.1, to 1.71 in 2022. This is a public service announcement for Americans whose jobs have been stolen by those millions ..read more

Onkel Reje (Uncle Shrimp) has been a popular figure on Danish children’s television shows for more than 10 years. Played by Mads Geertsen, he is a large, hairy, bearded man who wears a sailor’s hat and striped shirt, smokes a pipe, and swears a lot (in Danish). He performs silly, often bawdy songs and stories that test the limits of vulgarity and politically incorrect opinions. His hits include “Prutte prutte prutte” (“Fart fart fart”) and “Jeg kan ikke li’ at gå I bad” (“I don’t like taking showers”). From Onkel Rejes fede sommerferie. Photo: © Kees Kuypers / Frederik Lindgren and Mads Geer ..read more

“… you seem intelligent and are beautiful with the most delicious body” That was a message that Mette, a 19-year-old student, received on her Instagram feed late one night in February. Her admirer was Jon Stephensen (DK), a recently elected Member of Parliament whom she had met briefly during the election campaign. Stephensen, 63, who had been the director of the Aveny-T theater for several years, had been recruited to stand for Lars Løkke Rasmussen’s new Moderates party and served as the party’s cultural spokesperson. Demonstration against sexual harassment. Photo by Mélodie Descoubes on ..read more

(Note: This is the post that was postponed by the breaking Solvang Pride controversy last week. Mayor Mark Infanti switched sides, and the compromise reapplication by Rainbow House Inc.—eight banners, no crosswalks—passed, much to the continued consternation of dissenting councilman Robert Clarke, who insisted he is “not a bad person.”) Denmark has enjoyed a favorable reputation in mainstream American media, which leans to the left (the “liberal” side in US political parlance). Its safety net, work-life balance, collective traffic system, unionization, environmentalism, and gender egalitarian ..read more

I had been planning to write about criticism of Danish policies on refugees, the environment, and civil surveillance in prominent American publications. But then I learned that there is already a diplomatic crisis raging between the two countries. Last week, the mayor of Copenhagen came down hard on her counterpart in tiny Solvang, California, the “Danish Capital of America” in the Santa Ynez Valley north of Santa Barbara and south of Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch. “Little Denmark,” USA. Photo by Anthony Fomin on Unsplash. Settled by Danish immigrants more than a hundred years ago, Solva ..read more