A bitter taste of hypocrisy and a lack of integrity in the world of soccer

The threat of a yellow card is enough to make soccer players stick their tails between their legs. Meanwhile, violations of human rights cost human lives, every day.

It would have been an honor. It would have been a minimal price to pay – a yellow card for the national team captain for wearing the message ” 1 love” on his armband in solidarity with LGBTQIA+ people. A small price to pay for staying true to one´s values and a convenient statement without actually having to participate in the fight for human rights.

It would have been beautiful. Imagine seeing Western democracies stand up for those who do not have the opportunity to express themselves freely, without facing consequences – in the form of beatings, imprisonment, persecution of family members, or even death. But a gentle pressure and poof – there goes their solidarity down in the gutters. The thought of being met with consequences for standing up for their values in the form of effecting their professional performance and financial future was enough to make them retreat.

I have written about why authoritarian dictatorship states should not be allowed to hold prestigious sporting events (tillykke med kvalifikationen, Danmark). It is a way of legitimizing their regimes, it is a mockery of the thousands of people who have paid with their lives so that our Western well-padded bums can sit and howl during the staged events, orchestrated by deeply anti-democratic and corrupt regimes.

Instead, it is the players on Iran’s national team who are leading the way by refusing to sing along to their country’s national anthem – and according to Amnesty National risk torture when they return to Iran. A country in chaos, where women have been protesting for weeks for freedoms every woman in the West takes for granted – hundreds have paid with their lives, many have been sent to internment camps, and even more have been tortured.

Once again, the West acts like fools. Little by little, the measures that have been negotiated in advance – such as getting a draft beer during football matches – are being withdrawn. But it’s not so much about the draft beer that fans don’t get down their throats – it’s about the fact that you can’t trust regimes that play by completely different rules than those Western countries are used to following. And when you bow your head and model your participation according to views far from those the West stands for – you give the violent regimes the platform they want and the recognition that invites them into the same club as Western democracies – a club they don´t belong to.

Not all countries are equal, that should be ok to say. When FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, in his infantile way said that the West must apologize for the next 3,000 years for the past 3,000 years of misdeeds, it screams to the high heavens. The logic is that the countries that have become wiser, i.e. the Western democracies, in no way have the right to hold countries without respect for general human rights accountable. This means that the killing of LGBTQIA+ people, the killing of women and migrant workers, the oppression of girls, etc., etc., should not be prosecuted and that nothing should be done about the fates of the weakest.

The lesson seems to be that we must close our eyes and rejoice that we live in countries where we do not have to fight for rights as independent, free individuals – and let the rest of the world’s weakest populations carry on as best they can. The soccer players seem to agree: The national Danish team (with DBU as the supreme body) has indicated that they will leave all integrity in the dressing room and crawl onto the field like mice – not like men – unwilling to take advantage of their unique , privileged position to show the onlooking world their solidarity with the world’s weakest and stand up for the values that the West, at a safe distance from the world’s focal points, prides itself on standing for.

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En besk smag af hykleri og mangel på integritet i fodboldverdenen

Truslen om et gult kort er nok til at fodboldspillere stikker halen mellem benene. Imens koster brud på menneskerettighederne hver dag menneskeliv.

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Trump is running for president – but the train wreck that we know seems to be out of steam…

Not even Trump seems to believe in his own victory in the upcoming presidential election

It was expected – in my case, feared. But there was not fanfare, escalators, white dress suits, and roaring shouts of jubilation, like we saw it last time. Even Trump was a toned-down version of himself when he from his Mar-a-Lago golf resort announced his candidacy for the next US presidential election.

And so, the circus begins. We are still waiting for the result to find out if it will be the Democrats or the Republicans who will have the majority in the House of Representatives, but the presidential election has apparently started, too, all though the election is not until two years from now.

A while back, we talked to the kids about our future here in the US. We told them that if the Americans elect Trump again, then our time in the USA is over – we simply cannot go through the drama and the high blood pressure again. Maybe I will be moving, but I doubt it.

Perhaps Trump’s relatively calm behavior was strategic, perhaps he meant to appear as dialed down as possible as a reaction to his shrill MAGA candidates that were massively rejected by voters. Maybe that’s why he didn´t spew his hatred and false accusations at us. Maybe he’s depressed that his candidates in the US midterm elections were rejected. Maybe deep down he doesn’t want to announce his candidacy but does it hoping the multiple lawsuits, facing him for his financial blunders, will disappear.

When Trump announced his candidacy, he followed his script, which is unusual for him. He spoke in a low and slow tone and read his speech from cover to cover. It was a bizarre experience, since we are used to seeing his wild gestures, angry outbursts and tirades of nonsense blabber.

One thing, however, was as it usually is – his falsehoods and his conspiracy theories – about the mid-term election results, oil prices, and about the environment.

The news ankers were puzzled. Who is the Donald Trump we saw on our screens tonight? Why did he appear so different?

How will the Republican leadership respond? During the last week, several prominent members of the party have aired thoughts that it is time for a new direction for the party, a direction away from Trump and his political followers. This sentiment echoes the voters in the midterm elections.

Tonight, I am looking forward. I am exhilarated about the midterm elections – Americans showed the world they value their democracy and that what they want are politicians who work together and implement legislation for the benefit of the people.

So, I look forward to the future. Because with the Trump I saw tonight and the election results last week – I don’t think I’ll have to start packing any moving boxes. Maybe we don’t need to fear that Americans will re-elect Trump. But you never know – you should never underestimate neither Donald Trump nor the American people.

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Så kører Trump-toget igen – men slet ikke med samme damp som sidst…

Ikke engang Trump ser ud til at tro på sin egen sejr ved det kommende præsidentvalg

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Midterm election: Thank you to the women who voted for democracy and women´s rights

Shocking developments in the votes in the US midterm elections. American women have had enough!

“What are you most worried about? – inflation?” I asked my American friend on the phone last night.

»I don’t give a shit about inflation, if they take away my God damn rights as a human being!,« she replied, finishing her sentence by saying that she had done her part by voting, but that her mental health could not handle watching the midterm election results on live tv.

My friend is not the only one who has had enough. One state after another proved that last night. The news anchors watching the numbers come in couldn´t believe their eyes.

Traditionally, the party that has a president in the White House loses seats in Congress in the midterm elections. In addition, Biden has lower voter approval than many of his Democratic presidential predecessors. All the odds were against the Democratic Party – yet the votes show a clear trend: Americans, especially American women, do not want crazy Trump supporters representing them, they do not want to be deprived of democratic rights, and they do not want the right to choose over their own bodies taken away. Do never underestimate the power of women.

“Maybe America’s future isn’t as bleak, as I feared?

But the Republican party, that strategically and in historically large numbers put African-Americans and women on the ballot, to bring voters to think that the party does not exclusively consists of white men, did – underestimate women in America.

Also, Republicans thought they had a winning hand in Donald Trump, who has been touring and spewing his hate speech in important swing states. It turns out, though, voters don’t want more insane, boastful Trumpers in Congress – they want sensible politicians, they want cooperation – and they want democracy. I wonder if Trump will run for president after this?

Perhaps the Americans have also had enough of intimidation and violence. If there is one thing one should never do, it is telling an American what to do. Americans value their individual rights, and gun carrying, militia-clad men at the polls and violence against elected politicians’ family members may have proven too much for those who normally do not vote during the midterm elections.

It will take some time before we have a final election result. And during that period, conspiracy theories will start to simmer because Republicans will repeatedly cry out their never ending nonsense about voter fraud. Each state has carefully planned how to deal with a situation of potential riots in the streets.

Yesterday, I asked my 85-year-old neighbor Pat what she thought about the midterm elections. Whether she was nervous, even worried about democracy? “I have a different perspective, I’ve seen and experienced a lot, I’m not nervous,” she said.

And sweet Pat seems to be right. Maybe America’s future isn’t as bleak as I feared?

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Midtvejsvalg i USA: Tak til kvinderne, der stemte for demokrati og for retten til abort

Chokerende udvikling i stemmerne ved det amerikanske midtvejsvalg. Måske har mange amerikanere alligevel fået nok?

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I wish the US was as civilized as Denmark, when it comes to respecting the democratic process

Democracy is difficult. The Danish election two days ago shows us that the US could learn from Denmark. Meanwhile we are waiting for the American mid-term elections.

There they were, all eleven heads of the Danish political parties, representing the spectrum in Danish politics. Standing shoulder to shoulder, the very night of the parliamentary election. Traditionally, on election night, after all votes have been tallied, all party leaders participate in a joint session on the Danish public service tv channel DR to answer questions from the media. The atmosphere was civil, no one accusing anyone of cheating. I was completely stunned and quite moved. I must have forgotten how a well-functioning democratic process works.

My daughter and I were watching the live broadcast from Seattle. I explained the Danish political system, which she was somewhat confused about. Denmark has a multi-party system and eleven parties are a lot, even for a Dane, but not least for her, being used to the election being between the Democrats and the Republicans.

So, I explained, which is not as easy as one might think, because the Danish parties are close in their set of values and often overlap each other in their positions on individual topics.

“The red parties in Denmark are on the side of the blue bloc in the USA. But even the most conservative parties in Denmark, which is represented by a blue color, have some areas that are more socialist than the blue parties here in the US. The blue parties in Denmark are often more ´red´ than the blue party color of the American Democratic Party.”

My daughter asked questions about ideology and what it takes to get a mandate. “It’s a very complicated system,” she said, until it dawned on her that every vote cast counts—unlike presidential elections here.

When I heard the head of The Green Left (SF), Pia Olsen Dyhr, say that despite the differences in opinions, the representatives from other parties in Parliament (Folketing) are colleagues she likes and respects, I almost wanted to move back to my beautiful, democracy-loving, safe country of origin, Denmark.

“This is too exciting! I am amazed how quickly they count the votes,’ she said, while we watched the DR hosts try to fill out airtime while waiting for the final votes.

“Far fewer people live in Denmark. And the Danes are good at creating efficient systems and believing in the democratic process,” I replied.

The atmosphere I felt when I watched politicians from The Red/Green Alliance (Enhedslisten) bike ride through the streets of Copenhagen, the warmth I felt, when the cameras panned through various rooms in Parliament covered in confetti, showing Danish flags being waved, and nervous, excited looks glued to the latest election numbers on tv screens. I saw smiles, hugs, and groups of people spontaneously breaking out in song. That atmosphere, the USA could learn from.

Democracy is something to be celebrated. When I heard the head of The Green Left (SF) Pia Olsen Dyhr, say that despite the differences in opinions, the representatives from other parties in Parliament (Folketing) are colleagues she likes and respects, I almost wanted to move back to my beautiful, democracy-loving, safe country of origin, Denmark, where the rhetoric, even during an election campaign, is at a level where the politicians do not fear for their lives.

In that context, the political mood in America is starkly different. Many politicians talk to each other in such a disrespectful way you hardly want your kids to hear it. Many refuse to meet each other for debates. On the political arena and among the population, the atmosphere is so toxic that some fear a civil war.

Last week, a man broke into Speaker of the United States House of Representatives house, Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi was not at home. But her 82-year-old husband ended up with a fractured skull and injuries to his body. He is still recovering in the ER. The perpetrator has since stated that he wanted to smash Nancy Pelosi’s kneecaps so that other politicians would see what was in store for them.

More than 70 per cent of Republicans in the United States believe that the last presidential election was “stolen” from them – a falsehood that has been refuted again and again by various recounts and by countless court verdicts.

In the US, we don’t get the election results as quickly as other countries do. We must wait and wait and wait because one party in particular, the Republican, want the ballots recounted over and over and because they bring the decision to the courts and drag out the results by appealing even when the margin is significant. By law, they have the right to do so. But when the tally is clear, one must ask whether there is a strategy behind what the republicans are doing.

By dragging out the final election results, citizens lose interest and trust in the system. And that is most likely exactly what the republicans want. In its extreme consequence, that is an eerie thought: if you can destroy faith in democracy and make people believe their vote holds no power, that democracy is too difficult, what then is the alternative? – indifference and acceptance of a totalitarian system brought in through the backdoor.

Democracy is hard. But that does not mean that citizens should turn away from voting and participating – because if we do, we can wave goodbye to the democracy America prides itself of on the global world stage. Maybe America should look to Denmark for showing the world how to respect democracy?

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Tænk, hvis USA var lige så civiliseret, når det kommer til at afholde valg

Demokrati er svært, og USA kunne lære meget af Danmark. Det viste det danske valg, mens vi venter på det amerikanske midtvejsvalg.

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While women in Iran burn their headscarves, Danish Muslims talk about a non-debatable God given order for men and women

I recognize the Muslims’ rhetoric about fixed gender roles from my time in the sect Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Iran is on fire – women are burning their headscarves and protesting in the streets in hopes of freedoms Western Muslims take for granted.

On September 16, Masha Amini, a young 22-year-old Iranian woman, was arrested by the morality police. A few hours later, she died in their costidy.

Across Iran, women are protesting against the hard line the country’s leaders are increasingly implementing. More than 76 protesters have been killed, over 1,300 have been arrested.

“Sometimes you have to listen for what is not being said and pay attention to what is implied.

What do these women who put their lives on the line have to lose? Nothing. They see no future for themselves or their fellow sisters – that´s why they are willing to put their lives on the line. As a side note, this is a stark contrast to the hundreds of thousands of Russian men who are leaving Russia in droves these days instead of fighting a system that suppresses basic human rights.

In tiny Denmark, a group of Western, privileged Muslims discuss gender and equality on a radio podcast. “Patriarchy and matriarchy: Do they apply in Islam?”, is the theme of the program.

Sometimes you have to listen for what is not being said and pay attention to what is implied.

In the studio, are two guests; a woman and a man. Hamid and Kasper. The male radio host consistently lets Kasper answer first throughout the broadcast. Kasper has a smooth voice, but his words are as dangerous as snake venom.

“Patriarchy and matriarchy are words used in a gender discourse that is dangerous and that you have to be very careful with as a Muslim,” Kasper says. As the most natural thing, he draws up a view of gender that I recognize with a chill from Jehovah’s Witnesses. He would like to avoid concepts of gender, but that is “unfortunately” not necessary in society, i.e. the Danish one, in which he lives.

It is clear that one can easily be called Kasper and be brought up in Denmark without becoming a democratically minded citizen. In his soft voice, he continues with an argument that the two sexes have strict, God-given roles. The world is determined by Allah, the relationship between women and men is not up for debate.

His arguments are full of sardonic juice frosted with academic terms. He even refers to the feminist Simone de Beauvoir’s book “The Second Sex”, and pronounces the title in beautiful French. I wonder if the French feminist would turn in her grave if she heard how her words are being twisted in the mouth of a misogynist?

“Men and women are created as one body. If one part hurts, the other parts will hurt. If one part … makes a power takeover, the body becomes in conflict with itself.” The monologue elicits an approving murmur from the other two present in the radio studio. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to listen to such incoherent, illogical nonsense. Would they be able to see beyond their indoctrinated gender views if I with a twinkle in my eye asked them how the analogy makes any sense given that men’s health is statistically so much worse than women’s?

The woman in the studio, Hamid, personifies women at their worst – arguing against gender equality. She is skeptical of the terminology examining power structures between the sexes. And then she says something that sends a chill down my spine: “It’s part of the reality we’re part of right now.”

“Right now.”

That term was widely used within Jehovah’s Witnesses. “Right now” suggests that it will not always be like this. It is an encouragement or a warning depending on ones temperament.

There are no critical questions asked about the views presented, there is only a tunnel-vision conversation about how different a Muslim mindset is from the Western one based on gender equality. “We have a different approach to life… we fundamentally do not share the same outlook on life with this way of thinking.”

“This way of thinking.”

You mean the Danish, Western and extremely well-functioning one with a focus on gender equality? My thoughts drifted to the debate about integration and to the fact that the Danes are regularly criticized for using a them-and-us rhetoric. Ditches can be dug on both sides of the value frontline.

Iranian women and Afghan schoolgirls will probably disagree with Danish Kasper, who says: “The roles of men and women must not be challenged. This is a violent trend in the West.” He continues: ‘In Muslim environments there is a difference between the sexes. It is a man who is an imam … a man who teaches. The women are at the back of the room … that’s how it is.’

No matter how many academic phrases like “gender discourse,” “power structures,” and “post-structuralist” Kasper and Hamid use, the pot is full of the same dirty scum. I came to think of an expression we use here in the US, which reads: “to put lipstick on a pig.” No matter how hard you try to make something unpleasant sound or look nice, there will always be a stinking pig underneath.

Words are powerful, words can be twisted, and words can create prisons for those who are not allowed to speak freely. That premise is what Iranian women are rebelling against these days. They pay with their lives when they try to question the order their gender has been forced into.

It leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth when I hear Danish Muslims comfortably sitting in a radio studio in Denmark and pseudo-talk about how it is not important, yes indeed, downright ungodly to question the place, role and rights of the sexes. Western, privileged Muslims should stand shoulder to shoulder with their co-religionists in Iran and Afghanistan and fight for women’s right to be independent individuals who are not subordinate to men.

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Mens kvinder i Iran brænder deres tørklæder, sidder danske muslimer og taler om en fastlagt orden for mænd og kvinder

Muslimers retorik om faste kønsroller genkender jeg fra Jehovas Vidner.

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Stop Russian men from entering Europe – they must see the horrors of the war and rebel against Putin

Instead of taking to the streets and rebelling against Putin, Russian men are sticking their tails between their legs.

The Russian population has so far been rather quiet when it comes to showing opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Studies even show that a majority support for the war. Yes, I am aware that the regime is brutal and that you risk going to prison, being beaten, or poisoned if you speak out against the system. But that consequence doesn’t hold the Russians back now that the war is suddenly affecting them personally.

It amazes me that the Russian population has not previously filled the streets with demands that Putin immediately pulls its troops out of Ukraine, a sovereign and independent country. I guess, to the average Russian citizen it didn’t feel like the atrocities taking place in their neighboring country affected them personally – and so they remained silent and continued with their daily lives. In Russia, he who lives quietly, lives well.

Until now. Now Russian men and the families who part with them have to take a stance when it comes to the war their leader started. Putin wants to draw on the reserve. He says he intends to mobilize 300,000 from the reserve. He still has access to 25 million Russians if he manages to summon every single able bodied person.

There are simply too many Russians for Putin to send into war as cannon fodder.

Western journalists report mile-long queues of cars, all heading one way – out of Russia. CNN showed a graphic that made it clear that planes are taking off from Russian airports faster than you can say “hypocrisy,” while plane tickets out of the country within hours were either sold out or increased to nine times their normal price.

But what happens if Europe starts to do like Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland? These three countries have announced that they will not allow Russian men fleeing military conscription into their country – a rather stark contrast to the ever-clumsy Germany’s announcement that it will welcome Russian men.

Today, BBC reported that more victims of Russian brutality have been found in Ukraine. Several have had their throats cut, others have been raped. The victims are as young as four years old. Further, we know that Russia kidnaps children and sends them to Russia, deliberately goes after bombing schools, and has a clear strategy to target children in the Ukrainian hospitals.

Apparently, the knowledge of the war crimes we have known about for months, is not enough to mobilize the Russians to take to the street. As I said, there has been general support for the war in Russia. But that was before ordinary Russian men were called up for service, something Putin had previously said would not happen. So now, now that it affects the very ordinary Russian – now they are finally reacting.

I have previously written that Russian tourists should not be allowed to travel to European tourist destinations – while their compatriots are carrying out horrific acts of war. It shouldn’t be easy to be Russian – it should be difficult. It should be so difficult that the Russians begin to rebel against their despotic leader.

There is no point in thinking that it is enough to donate money or support the West sending military goods to bring an end to this war. There are simply too many Russians for Putin to send into war as cannon fodder. A change must take place from within. The West must assist with that help by putting pressure on Putin and the Russian population. The West should sanction free movement, apparently that is the only way to force the population to stand up – not for Ukrainians but for their sons, fathers, and brothers.

By forcing the population to stay in Russia, the West may be able to get Russians of gun-bearing age to take a stand against their regime and leadership and throw Putin out the door.

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Stop russiske mænds adgang til Europa – de skal se krigens rædsler og gøre oprør mod Putin

I stedet for at gå på gaden og gøre oprør mod Putin stikker russiske mænd halen mellem benene.

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The Danish press is looking into Søren Pape´s, the leader of the Danish Conservative People´s Party, statements and actions – all you have to do is to turn to America to see how bad things can go

Looking into Søren Pape´s behavior is relevant – he might be the next Danish Prime Minister

I am not comparing Søren Pape to Donald Trump one to one; their behavior cannot be compared and Pape´s potential misconduct does not match that of Donald Trump´s. But, the principle of the press investigating the worthiness and suitability of the person who has ambitions to lead the country is the same – and that process is important.

I live in the United States and every day the news bring stories revealing Trump’s abuse of power while he was president – and reveal stories about what he has been willing to do for his dictatorial ambitions. Furthermore, Trump put the country’s security and the citizens´ lives at risk after he was out of office.

And that is the part of the story about the leader of the Danish Conservative People´s Party Søren Pape that is interesting. The public needs to know if he has violated any laws or committed actions within the country´s borders and internationally inconsistent with how one behaves as a publicly elected person. If it turns out he has, it needs to be addressed and dealt with – immediately. If we don´t, all one has to do is look to America to see how bad things can go. The Danish population needs to know who they are potentially voting to be the next leader of Denmark before an election.

“when the press smells blood, you have to be able to provide more than a muffled answer to survive in the highest circles of political life – as the saying goes: when you are a public figure, the press will attend both the wedding and the divorce.

It’s a good thing the press is not intimidated but do the research which leads to providing the public with the information they find. Some findings are irrelevant in relation to Pape’s dreams of becoming the next Danish Prime Minister, others may reveal serious incidents. That’s the process. It’s not pretty, but it’s necessary.

It is crucial that the population has a right to know what kind of candidate they are potentially voting into the Prime Minister’s Office – especially if illegal activities have damaged Denmark’s reputation and put the country´s security at risk.

That Pape is so ill-prepared and handles the shitstorm he’s in so completely unmannerly is another matter. He clearly needs his spin doctor to help him prepare his public responses better. But when spin and emotionally distress intertwine, it is clearly difficult for him to utter anything meaningful to the public. A public person like Pape should know that once the press smells blood, you have to be able to give more than a muffled answer to survive in the highest circles of political life – as the saying goes: the press will attend both the wedding and the divorce.

As we have seen countless times with Trump here in the United States, it creates a ground for conspiracy theories and allows the press to gain the upper hand and run the stories in the direction they want when a politician does not want to answer strait to questions from the press.

Søren Pape’s inability to handle the situation is shameful, because his unwillingness to elaborate and answer questions creates uncertainty in relation to his competences as Denmark’s future leader. Hopefully, time will show that he didn´t compromise Denmark’s interests. Time will tell, the press turn every stone and unearth whatever lies below the surface – for the benefit of Denmark and democracy.

Det er ikke kønt, men det er nødvendigt at gå Pape efter i sømmene – se bare på USA, hvor galt det kan gå

Det er relevant, hvad Søren Pape har foretaget sig – han kan stå på tærsklen til at få overdraget nøglerne til Statsministeriet.

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Stop Russian tourists from strolling around in Denmark and other western countries

Denmark and the rest of Europe is at war with Russia, not just with Putin.

Several Danish politicians argue that we are not at war with Russia. It’s Putin we don’t like, not the country’s citizens, they argue. Therefore, we should not make restrictions on whether Russians can travel to Europe on holiday, they argue.

To this I just have to say: What nonsense!

“Doesn’t it shake the inner moral compass up when we with one hand financially support Ukraine to fight the Russia’s invasion, while with the other let the country´s citizens spend their rubles in the Copenhagen Magasin mall and Harrods ?

The ordinary Russian does not have the means to travel abroad. Those who travel do not speak out against the regime. If they did, their situation would look completely different. Because in Russia it is wisest not to stick your nose out and speak against the system. If you stay silent, you can live well. And although we in the West want to believe that it is only Putin who has imperialist superpower dreams, many Russians support his regime.

Secondly, some voices say it would be a good to continue to allow Russian students to study in the West. Who knows, the argument goes, maybe they’ll go back and spread the ideas of democracy they’ve been introduced to outside of their censorious, authoritarian homeland. Again, it is the children of wealthy Russians who travel abroad to study. And you have to be more than naive if you think that young Vladimir or Anastasia will go home and speak out against the system that has made it possible for their mother and father to send them away – a system that can bring their parents status down if the offspring speaks against the the system.

Either they are extremely naive or cynical when voices in the public arena argue that individual Russians should not pay a price for Putin’s madness. Especially when it is widely known that Russia is keeping captured Ukrainians in camps, using mass rape as a strategic weapon of war, and bomb towns specifically targeting the civilian population.

You can obviously choose to close your eyes to that knowledge. You could also choose to have integrity and stand up for principles instead of choosing to look at the situation from a monetary perspective. It can be difficult to open your eyes. You risk seeing something you don’t want to.

If you have previously taken a position that does not align with the real world, this can be difficult. But that is what gives a person integrity and character – that he or she dares to let his or her worldview be influenced by the real world and not the world we all wish we were living in.

The school year has just started in Denmark. Many new Ukrainian students have arrived, children who struggle every day to fit in and understand the childhood and the world that has changed for them overnight.

Isn’t it a mockery of the many victims of the war that we let rich Russians luxuriate in the same society we have invited Ukrainian citizens to find peace? Doesn’t it shake the inner moral compass when we with one hand financially support Ukraine to fight Russia’s invasion, while with the other let the country´s citizens put their rubles in the Copenhagen Magasin mall and Harrods ?

The West is not only at war with Putin – we are at war with Russia. The leader of Russia is Putin, and his system penetrates everything in Russia. Putin sends his people to war, and many voluntarily go to fight for him. It may be very convenient to want to separate the leader of a country from its people – but this argument is naive semantics. We have to punish collectively.

If the West dares to stand up for common decency, it may start to hurt the privileged sections of the Russian population who travel to the West and pretend the war has nothing to do with them . Maybe that way they will finally get the courrage to remove their terrible leader – if only to get their comfortable life back for and their children into Europe.

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Selvfølgelig skal russiske turister ikke spankulere rundt i Danmark og andre lande, som Rusland er i proxykrig med

Danmark og resten af Europa er i krig med Rusland, ikke kun med Putin.

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Does Joe Biden fear an American civil war?

Do you want to keep democracy?, Joe Biden asked in his address to the nation.

Sleepy Joe has finally woken up, and that´s in a way that felt like a slap in the face to me and Americans. In his address to the nation yesterday, he said: “We have to be honest. There is too much in the United States that, because of Donald Trump, threatens the foundations of our democracy.”

If that doesn´t snap you out of your haze, I don´t know what will. I myself, reacted by sitting up straight on my couch. And then I got nervous. The speech was, in all its simplicity, about how we must ensure that democracy survives under the pressure of the political violence of extreme national MAGA groupings.

Our time is not the first where the United States has been divided. Historically, when things have been so bad that an American president has addressed the nation, division within the population has led to war and a national identity crisis.

I am obviously not the only one who occasionally loose sleep over the situation in America. Today, the country’s president found it necessary to say that if we are not careful, we risk that our children will not grow up in a democracy with the same freedoms as we have today. “Equality and democracy are under attack. Don’t take our democracy for granted, stand up for it, fight for it,” Joe Biden said.

“As Biden talked about the United States being at a crossroads, I get more nervous. This was not just another political speech from a political leader. This was serious.

It is very rare that Biden mentions Trump by name. But today, he did just that several times. Without sugarcoating his words, he warned that Trump and his MAGA supporters are actively using violence and threats as a tool and that they are willing to use any means to get the results they want. But “you can’t only love the United States when you win,” Biden shouted. “Blind loyalty to one person is fatal for a democracy.”

Several times since the attempted coup on January 6 last year, I have come across ordinary Americans who have expressed a fear that the political mood and Trump’s influence are now so inflamed that it could lead to a civil war.

Biden argued that “that’s not how we are”.

But maybe that is the way Americans are? Maybe they’ve always been that way? Maybe we just haven’t seen it until now, because the hatred has been directed against populations abroad or against African Americans within the country’s borders – and not against ordinary white Americans, whose only “flaws” in the eyes of Trump and his supporters are, that they are democrats?

Biden and Trump are the personification of the choice America faces. Democracy versus autocracy, a dynamic society versus conservative stagnation, inclusion versus exclusion, international orientation versus isolationism.

Joe Biden is a seasoned politician to the core. He believes in the Constitution, the democratic process and has been part of the game in Congress and the White House for decades. He is known for seeking consensus across political party lines, inviting everyone to negotiations and believing in the process. Trump, on the other hand, is a completely different beast with no political experience and with an attitude that he wants things his way – at any cost and by any means. The diplomat against the tyrant, the negotiator against the aggressor.

As Biden talked about the United States being at a crossroads, I got more nervous. This was not just another political speech from a political leader. This was serious. Quiet, whispering Joe stood there under the whir of historic wings and said that we must fight for what we believe in—and that if we don’t, we’ll lose our democracy.

“We are not powerless, we must not stand by. We stand for honesty, decency, democracy,’ he said rather dictatingly. He also said that together we can do anything. Still, I had a knot in my stomach, thinking about how we are going to stop national extremists from intimidating and threatening their way into an agenda and a society far from what I associate with a free democracy, and how democracy might feel after the next election.

Frygter Joe Biden en amerikansk borgerkrig?

Skal vi have demokratiske rettigheder eller ufrihed? spurgte Joe Biden i sin tale til nationen.

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Udmattelsens juridiske maraton er Trumps trumf

Amerikanske nyhedsmedier håber, Trump bliver stillet til regnskab – men en snu rotte som ham finder altid smuthuller.

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A judicial marathon of exhaustion is Trump’s strategy card

American news outlets like CNN, MSNBC, BBC and others sound like they think Trump will be held accountable this time – but a cunning rat like him always finds loopholes.

He does it again and again: puts other people’s lives in danger, never his own.

Most people are probably aware that the FBI has removed multiple boxes of top secret documents from Trump’s private golf resort, Maralago. Documents Trump took with him as he hurriedly flew away in a helicopter in the early hours of the same Washington DC morning Joe Biden was sworn in as the next President of the United States.

The documents Trump took, were piled up in closets, in his bedroom, and wherever he could find available space – fully accessible to anyone with access to Trump’s quarters.

“He has always considered himself above the law. He will probably find a loophole. this time, too.

Under the Espionage Act and the Atomic Energy Act, it is illegal to hide or remove top secret documents related to national defense.

It requires a long and rigorous process to gain approval to access top secret documents. Before your approval, you undergo a series of security checks and interviews, as do your neighbors, friends and colleagues.

Once you are handling top secret documents, you can lose your job if you forget to lock your drawer with classified documents – even if it is located in a top secured building.

It is a matter of national security and of the safety of the people who serve the United States. It is crucial that top secret documents are handled with respect and according to strict protocol – anything else is a disgrace to those who put their lives on the line every day for their country.

Of course, it is not legal to remove top secret documents when you are no longer president. The documents belong to the state, not the president. Who knows how many agents’ lives Trump has put on the line in his childish and dangerous need for control and power?

And no, it is also not legal for a former president to change the status of documents with the stroke of a pen, as Trump claims he did.

When I watch the news on CNN and MSNBC, hear the news from the BBC and read the New York Times, I sense hope and excitement that the processes underway will hold Trump accountable for his countless acts of democracy destruction.

But I do not share the optimism. Trump is a seasoned rat who knows the legal game from his mafia-like business practices that have repeatedly brought him into conflict with the New York legal system throughout his life.

He has no respect for the law and no intention of obeying it. He has always considered himself to be above the law. He will probably find a loophole this time, too.