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2008

Mon 18 aug 2008 Quebecers must learn English to play on international stage
Francophones must face the fact that English is the language of global commerce

A scientist from Denmark meets with government officials in China, and they converse in English. A conference of Eastern European and Turkish business people is conducted in English. The same at a meeting of Asian environmental activists in Tokyo.

The participants in these events were not born into the language of Shakespeare. They learned it from necessity, having acknowledged it as the linguistic currency of the global village.

This is not a new story but one with ever-increasing momentum, and it's leaving too many young French-speaking Quebecers in the "penalty box," as a friend of mine says. Here's the sad irony: In Quebec's educational system it seems that the world's current lingua franca remains a sort of bête noire.

Following revolutionary developments in technology, all peoples of the world are communicating, trading, and sharing knowledge with each other. Commerce knows few borders. With mobility a defining characteristic of the modern era, the international community has adopted a standard language. That language is English.

Michel Kelly-Gagnon is president of the Quebec Employers Council.

www.cpq.qc.ca

Sunday 17 February 2008 The Islamic world is growing increasingly angry over the reprinting of political cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed. Danish newspapers published the cartoons again this week, three years after the drawings first caused an outrage among Muslims around the world. About 4,000 supporters of the Palestinian group Hamas staged a protest demonstration in Gaza. In Pakistan's city of Karachi, hundreds of people called for the death of the cartoonists. The governments of Iraq and Kuwait have also protested. The Danish newspapers reprinted the cartoons as a gesture to promote freedom of the press after police claimed to have uncovered a plot to murder one of the cartoonists.

2007

Wednesday 14 November 2007 The centre-right bloc of Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has won Tuesday's national election. With 95 per cent of the vote counted, the Lliberal-Conservative coalition and right-wing Danish People's Party were credited with 89 seats in parliament, one shy of a majority, while the Social Democrats of Helle Thorning-Schmidt were headed toward 81 seats.

Monday 17 September 2007 New Terrorism Case Confirms That Denmark Is a Target
After three terrorism cases in less than two years, including an alleged bombing plot broken up this month, intelligence officials say tiny Denmark is on the front line in the battle against Islamic terrorism in Europe.

Friday 14 September 2007 COPENHAGEN: DENMARK INVITES CANADA TO ARCTIC CONFERENCE
The government of Denmark has invited countries like itself with Arctic sovereignty claims to a conference to discuss them. The Danish foreign minister, Per Stig Moeller, says he and Greenland Premier Hans Enoksen, sent invitations to the foreign ministers of Canada, the U.S., Norway and Russia. A Danish newspaper says the proposed conference would take place in Greenland May 27-29. All five countries have conflicting claims to territorial sovereignty in the Arctic. At stake is the parties' ability to define the extent of their continental shelf under the terms of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Last month, Russia sent submarines to plant a Russian flag under the ice of the North Pole, and Canada announced it will build an army training centre and a deep-water port in the Arctic. The melting of Arctic ice could improve access to the region's natural resources and open new shipping lanes.

Monday 03 September 2007 Hundreds of young people staged a violent protest in Copenhagen on Sunday, clashing with police, setting fire to cars and smashing windows. One officer was injured. Police arrested 63 people. The protesters were demonstrating against the planned demolition of Youth House, an historic cultural centre. Initial news of the demoliton in March led to several days of violent protests in which hundreds of people were arrested.

Friday 12 January 2007 OTTAWA: DENMARK TO END PARTICIPATION IN CANADA FLIGHT TRAINING PROGRAM
Denmark intends to stop participating in a military flight training program in Canada in three years' time. News of Denmark's decision was reported on Sunday. The advanced flight-training school operates at two bases in the western provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta. Begun in 1994, the program is funded by the government, but is operated by the private Canadian manufacturer, Bombardier. The program has an overall budget of CDN$3.4 billion. The decision puts the future of the NATO Flight Training in Canada program somewhat in doubt. But a spokesman for Canada's air force predicts that Denmark's withdrawal will have no impact on the program, though he added, 'We would have preferred them to stay.' He said that the program will continue to operate until the end of its 20-year contract with Bombardier. Canada's auditor-general, Sheila Fraser, has questioned whether the program is effectively using its government funds. Among other countries that have sent pilots for training at the centre are Hungary, Italy, Britain and the United Arab Emirates.

Tuesday 02 January 2007 Denmark's Queen used her traditional New Year's speech to talk about the uproar created by Danish newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad last year. Queen Margrethe said the angry international reaction highlighted the need for Danes to be more tolerant and understanding of foreign cultures. The figurehead monarch did not mention the cartoons by name in her address, but she used much of the speech to stress the importance of embracing immigrants and making improved efforts to understand their cultural differences.

2006

Monday Apr 10, 2006 rci Europe's second-largest dairy company has managed to overturn a ban on its products in the Muslim world. Products made by Arla Foods of Denmark were banned last month in protest against the publication of editorial cartoons featuring the Prophet Muhammed in a Danish newspaper. The publication sparked widespread violent demonstrations. Arla supplied about 50-thousand retail stores in the Arab world with annual sales of almost half a billion American dollars. About three thousand stores are dealing with Arla again. The Muslim ban on Arla was dropped after the company denounced the cartoons. Denmark's government is criticizing Arla for the move, saying that the company has renounced Denmark's principles of freedom for the sake of profits.

Friday Mar 17, 2006 ts On books, censorship and political pressure
Just as the din of the Danish cartoon controversy — with its arguments over freedom of speech, censorship and political or consumer pressures — was dying down, several others with similar echoes have hit the headlines.

14 feb 2000

Sunday Feb 12, 2006 ts Protestors chant `Shame' outside Danish consulate
Marshals from the Muslim community monitored hundreds who gathered yesterday in front of the Danish consulate to protest against cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, writes Surya Bhattacharya.

Trying to sweeten the debate
While the hundreds of Muslims who rallied in front of Denmark's consulate to protest cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad stole all the attention, another group of Muslims was meeting outside the camera's glare.

nyt Capture the Flag By MARTIN BURCHARTH The debate over the Danish cartoons only can be seen in the context of a climate of pervasive hostility toward anything Muslim in Denmark.

Monday Feb 6, 2006 nyt Beirut Mob Burns Danish Mission Over Cartoons
By KATHERINE ZOEPF and HASSAN M. FATTAH
The violence in the predominantly Christian Achrafieh section of East Beirut raised fears of deepening divisions in Lebanon

Sunday Feb 5, 2006 np Fire set to Danish Embassy
Demonstrators protesting caricatures of Islam's prophet set fire Sunday to a building housing the Danish Embassy in Lebanon as security forces fired tear gas in an attempt to stop the protesters.

Sunday Feb 5, 2006 WN Danish envoy says `dialogue' only solution
Denmark's ambassador says he's confident Canadian Muslims can maintain a dialogue over the controversy surrounding cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, writes Surya Bhattacharya. [Many WN stories]

Thursday Feb 2, 2006 ts Denmark embroiled in Muslim controversy
The protracted, still-raging controversy over a Danish newspaper's caricature of the Prophet Muhammad is a case study of the West's troubled relations with Muslims.

2005

Tuesday Sep 20, 2005 rci Canada and Denmark have called a truce in the war of words over a disputed island in the high Arctic region near Greenland. Canada's foreign affairs minister, Pierre Pettigrew, and his Danish counterpart, Per Stig Moller, met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Monday. They later announced that the two countries will draft a protocol for managing their dealings over the small island. However, neither nation intends to renounce its claim to sovereignty over the island. The surrounding waters of Hans Island are known for their abundance of turbot and shrimp. More recently, the phenomenon of global warming has opened up possibilities for energy exploration and navigation.

Saturday Aug 20, 2005 rci DENMARK TO ABANDON FLAG WAR IN ARCTIC
The head of Greenland's territorial government, Hans Enoksen, says Denmark intends to try to settle its sovereignty dispute with Canada over possession of Hans Island in waters near Greenland at the UN next month through negotiation. Mr. Enoksen says the Danish warship which will approach the island won't land sailors to remove the Canadian flag recently planted there. Canada and Denmark have been arguing about sovereignty over the tiny island since the 1970s. But the matter has become more important since the melting of ice due to global warming is opening up the region to navigation and energy exploration.

Saturday May 7, 2005 ec
in E-readiness Denmark is still the best place in the world to do e-business, reports the Economist Intelligence Unit, a sister firm of The Economist. It has ranked the “e-readiness” of the world's 65 largest economies to find the countries most amenable to internet-based business. The factors considered include broadband and mobile-phone penetration, as well as government regulation. America rose from sixth to second place in the ranking since last year. Britain fell from second to fifth place. India, despite being an IT superpower, is ranked only 49th.

Saturday Apr 9, 2005 tsPrince Joachim of Denmark divorces wife
COPENHAGEN—Denmark`s Prince Joachim and Princess Alexandra have finalized their divorce, the first in Europe`s oldest monarchy in nearly 160 years, the royal court said yesterday.

Saturday 15 May 2004 cbc
AUSTRALIAN WEDS DANISH PRINCE Tens of thousands of people filled the streets of Copenhagen Friday as Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark married Mary Donaldson, the first Australian to stand in line for a ruling throne.

Friday Aug 13, 2004 cbc DENMARK BANS SPECIAL K FOR BEING TOO SPECIAL Cereal manufacturer Kellogg, long criticized for making breakfast foods containing high quantities of sugar and salt, is now fighting back against Danish allegations that some of its products have too many vitamins and minerals.

Thomas Bruum

Wed 1136 Dec 10th., 2003 Technology, rebuild Iraq, U.S. to the victor go the spoils, JACQUES CLÉMENT’S REPORT The economy Me Julius Grey Thomas Bruum Danish Trade; David Mitchell, Robert Gervais Pre2Post, Prof. Gerald Ratzer (McGill), Jacques Clément | Album
Notes by Herb Bercovitz Wed 1136 Dec 10th., 2003
800x600 1135 Front room | 2400x256 1136 pan

Me. Camilla MATHIESEN (Denmark)
Junior Programme Officer
Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
Bio safety
Phone: +1 514 287 7034
E-Mail: camilla.mathiesen@biodiv.org
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