I 2015 er det svært at finde et mere rendyrket og blodigt eksempel på imperialisme end det, som IS udøver i Irak og Syrien

På de sociale medier er der forbavsende mange vestlige europæere, der synes at tage IS’ forklaring for gode varer

skriver Jacob McHangama i Politiken efter det blodige terrorangreb i Paris,

med opdateringer à la ’det er forfærdeligt, men sådan går det, når man blander sig i konflikter og er en gammel kolonimagt’.

Det er en absurd logik, der tilkender hvide vesterlændinge skylden for stort set alt, hvad der er galt i verden, og frakender mennesker med en anden hudfarve og religion evnen til at tænke og tage et selvstændigt ansvar for deres handlinger.

Lad os lige få fakta på bordet: Langt størstedelen af de franske statsborgere, der kæmper i Syrien, står på Islamisk Stats side. IS’ tropper består desuden af tusinder af statsborgere fra bl.a. Danmark, Belgien og Sverige, som ingen relation har til Syrien, og som har myrdet titusindvis af civile og – mod det syriske folks vilje – udråbt deres egen stat på syrisk territorium.

I 2015 er det svært at finde et mere rendyrket og blodigt eksempel på imperialisme end det, som IS udøver i Irak og Syrien.

De IS-tropper, som franske bombefly har dræbt i Syrien, var involveret i folkemordslignende handlinger og dræbte med pervers glæde uskyldige civile og gjorde kvinder og børn til slaver.

De franskmænd, som IS i fredags myrdede i Paris, var civile, som på tværs af køn, etnicitet og religion nød hinandens selskab og den frihed og tolerance, som aldrig kan skabes af mennesker, der ønsker et samfund baseret på en bog skrevet i det 7. århundrede.

I IS’ pressemeddelelse blev koncerten med Eagles of Death Metal på spillestedet Le Bataclan, som endte i et blodbad, beskrevet som en »skamløst prostitutionsfest«. Valget af Le Bataclan og det 11. arrondissement, der er ungt og trendy med natteliv og fest, viser med al tydelighed, at det netop er vores livsstil og værdier, IS og dets ideologiske fæller vil udrydde. For hvad skulle fulde, glade unge have med Frankrigs udenrigspolitik at gøre?

Hvis man endnu ikke føler sig overbevist, bør man se på, hvad der sker uden for Vesten. Dagen før angrebet mod Paris stod IS bag et større terrorangreb i Beirut, og forskellige jihadistiske grupper har siden 2001 udført brutale og blodige terrorangreb på stort set alle kontinenter fra New York til Nigeria, fra Paris til Mumbai, fra Amman til Bali.

Jihadisternes kamp er altså ikke en kamp imod vestlig undertrykkelse eller ’neoimperialisme’, men derimod for en totalitær ideologi, der har som mål at udrydde alle forhindringer for dets egen globale magtovertagelse.

Det er uforståeligt, at der i vores midte bor mennesker, der er villige til at dræbe og dø for at knuse den livsstil og de værdier, vi tager for givet, og erstatte dem med en religiøs ideologi, der er frihedens diametrale modsætning.

Men det nytter ikke noget at begynde at ryste på hånden. Vi må stå fast på, at vores værdier er alternativerne overlegne. Vi skal ikke gå på kompromis med ytrings- og religionsfrihed, og vi må aldrig indføre kollektivt ansvar for nogle fås ugerninger. De muslimske ofre for IS overstiger langt de vestlige.

Vi skal have modet til klart og utvetydigt at sige, at folk, der ønsker at udskifte frihed og tolerance med bogstavtro religion, ikke er ofre, men fjender, og at de ikke har krav på respekt eller anerkendelse.

De søvndyssende hastighedsgrænser

En forkortet version af nedstående blev trykt i Villabyerne:

    I marts skrev Ekstra Bladet at på fem timer havde en af politiets nye fotovogne tjent mindst to millioner kroner fra bøder på en kort strækning på Køge Bugt Motorvejen.  Lige så vigtigt var det der ikke stod i Jan Søgaards artikel.  Der var ikke tale om en eneste dødstilfælde; ja, der havde ikke engang været et eneste uheld.  Det kan kun betyde en ting:  ikke at danskerne (eller at nogle danskere) er fartsyndere og motorbøller der kører "for stærkt", men at på motorvejen ihvertfald er regeringens fartgrænse (alt) for lav.

    Hvis det ikke er afpresning, hvilken betydning har ordet afpresning så?  Ikke blot kan man tale om bestikkelse, men man kan sige at regeringen går imod dens udpejede rolle (beskyttelsen af befolkningen) og gør vejene farligere for alle.

    På de fleste motorveje over hele Europa samt i Nordamerika — de veje der er de sikreste i hver sit land (ingen fodgængere, ingen trafiklys, osv) — er den første dødsårsag nemlig ikke hastigheden (farten skulle dræbe, ikke sandt?) men dyssighed.  Og hvorfor falder folk i søvn ved rattet hvis det ikke er på grund af en søvndyssende hastighed (eller skulle man sige den "søvndyssende langsomhed")?

    Denne fartgrænse på 110 km i timen, hvornår blev den indført?  Så langt tilbage som… 1970erne.  Skulle bilen ikke have udviklet sig teknologisk i de sidste 40 (!) år?!  (Prøv at sammenligne en telefon fra 1974 — drej den nummerskive! — med din nuværende mobil, for slet ikke at tale om en smartphone…)  Og hvorfor blev disse fartgrænser indført over hele vesten?  For borgernes sikkerhed?  Slet ikke.  Kun af økonomiske grunde (OPECs oliekrise).

    Et ord til dem som altid, mekanisk, forsvarer myndighederne.  Jeg spørger altid disse folk — som jeg kalder Manskabare folkene (man skal bare overholde en ældgammel lov, man skal bare ikke falde i søvn ved rattet, man skal bare aldrig være forsinket, man skal bare betale sine bøder med glæde, osv osv osv) — hvorfor de vil have at Danmark trækker sig ud af EU.  Det vil de slet ikke, svarer de fleste, hvorfor i alverden tror jeg det?!  Jo, fordi over det meste af Europa kører folk "for stærkt" og de fleste europæere må derfor være farlige "motorbøller".  Hvis svaret er at det ikke passer fordi i de fleste lande er fartgrænsen 130 km i timen, hvad betyder "fartbølle" så andet end at blive forhånet af ens medborgere for at overtræde en forældet (og allerede dengang ret tilfældig) administrativ regel uden nogen som helst hensyn til sikkerhed?

    Hvad Manskabare folkene ønsker i realiteten — hvadenten de findes i regeringen eller blandt befolkningen — det er at borgerne er, eller at borgerne skal blive til, robotter:  Man skal bare adlyde og man har bare at tie stille.

    Med airbags, ABS bremser, og andre moderniteter, burde en rimelig begrænsning på motorvejen blive øget op til omkring 150-160 km/t, har man læst i Frankrigs avis Le Monde (stadig 50 km/t i byen, naturligvis, pga fodgængere og cyklister), eller endda være uden restriktioner som hos vores tyske naboer, der ikke har en markant højere mortalitet end i andre EU lande.

    Ansvarsfuld bilkørsel (og dermed sikkerhed) for alle, som bruger
deres hjerne og sund fornuft (og som ikke opfører sig som en robot) er:
1) først og fremmest bruge øjnene på vejen og
2) være opmærksom på bevægelser på den vej
(andre køretøjer, fodgængere, dyr…) — noget
der pejer på mennesker og/eller andre levende væsener…

    Det der kræves af Manskabare folkene er:
1) først og fremmest bruge øjnene inde i køretøjet
(instrumentbrættet og omdrejningstællerne) og
2) være opmærksom på faste genstande (vejskilte og…
fotovogne) — der viser objekter uden sjæl og uden liv…

    Hvilken af ​​de to måder at køre på er den smarteste?
Hvilken af ​​de to bilister er den mest respektfulde over for andre?

70 Years Ago, the German Army in Denmark Surrendered, and Joyful Danes Filled the Streets of Copenhagen

For the past couple of weeks, Denmark has been celebrating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, as can be seen in a Berlingske Tidende photo display.

A message on a resistance fighter's car seems to say that his group has killed seven snitches.

Graphic Novel Anthology on the German Occupation of Denmark

One week from now, coinciding both with the 75th anniversary of Adolf Hitler's invasion of Denmark and with the 70th anniversary of the liberation, appears a 250-page graphic novel anthology, announces Serieland, the subject of which is the German occupation of Denmark during World War II.

Among the stories in Knivsæg by almost 50 mainly Danish authors and cartoonists (the Fahrenheit book can be ordered at Arnold Busck) is an 11-page contribution by Erik Svane and Dan Greenberg (as can be seen in Miwer's video trailer at 0:51), the duo which is hard at work to bring you The Life and Times of Abraham Lincoln.

From Fahrenheit:

Det er 70 år siden, Anden Verdenskrig sluttede i Danmark, og vi har allesammen hørt fortællinger om besættelsen. Nogle historier har vi fået fortalt af forældre, bedsteforældre, onkler og tanker, andre har vi hørt fra venner og kolleger. Langt de fleste historier handler om sabotage, en mangelsituation eller rationering, eller de er en personlig fortælling, der giver indblik i familiens historie. 
 
Men KNIVSÆG har vi, der ikke oplevede kringen, sat os for at genfortælle nogle af dens historier i tegneserieform. Vi håber, at antologien – hvis bidragsydere tæller både nye kræfter og garvede navne – udover at formidle et syn på besættelsen også kan give et spraglet og vidtfavnende signalement af talentmassen inden for den danske tegneserie lige nu.

Germany's occupation of Denmark — Timeline
Tidslinje over Danmarks besættelse 1940-1945

It’s a scientific fact: Danes are the most shameless people in the world

I’d long suspected it, and during my time living Danishly, I’d become convinced of it

admits Helen Russell, the author of The Year of Living Danishly (available from the Telegraph Bookshop).

But now it’s a scientific fact: a survey conducted by the University of Zürich has shown that Danes are the most shameless people in the world. A mere 1.62 per cent of Danes suffer from gelotophobia - fear of ridicule - the lowest proportion of the population in any country surveyed. In the UK, we have the highest number of people with the phobia. As a Brit who was also raised a Catholic and went to an all-girls school, I’m practically a lost, hyper-repressed cause. So moving to Denmark proved quite the eye opener. From the encouragement of office-based sing-alongs to a large emphasis on public nudity and a big appreciation for alcohol, Danes seem to be raised utterly uninhibited.

Take school, for example. From the age of six, Danish children participate in a national curriculum sex week to learn how babies are made and by the age of 13, they’ve covered everything from masturbation to transgender rights in frank and open discussions. Having learned about sex from Judy Blume’s Forever and Lady Chatterley’s Lover in my own formative years because our biology teacher blushed beetroot at the mere mention of stamen, this was a revelation. Danish children are also taught to question authority and speak their minds – without worrying about what other people think.

During my adolescence in 1990s British suburbia, swimming was something to be avoided whenever possible. The crushing embarrassment of displaying sprouting pubescent bodies drove many a teen to fake notes from their parents to get out of class and I spent a good 50 per cent of my time on the claggy poolside bench on ‘float-duty’. But not in Denmark. Here, exercise is mandatory, showers are communal and a supervised naked scrub-down is expected of all swimmers before entering the pool. Family nudist nights are not uncommon and many of the beaches along Denmark’s 7,000 km of coastline are clothing-optional.

 … Family nudist nights are not uncommon and many of the beaches along Denmark’s 7,000 km of coastline are clothing-optional.

Once they hit 16, Danes can drink, consuming 11 litres of pure alcohol per person per year, according to the World Health Organisation - something that’s bound to stave off shame. At least until morning. And because Denmark still has student grants (remember them?), anyone over the age of 18 is paid to study - for as long as they like. Lubricated, uninhibited and happy to live like a student until their 30s, in some cases, it’s no wonder Danes are so relaxed.

When Danes do make it to the workplace, the fun continues. Birthdays are marked with lots of singing and special man-shaped cakes - everyone screams when you behead the cakeman. Danish celebrations are not for shrinking violets. Many workplaces have leisure clubs or associations attached and several in my area also boast their own office band. Guitars are whipped out at every opportunity and communal music making with Lars from accounts is considered a perfectly normal hygge (‘relaxed’, ‘friendly’ or ‘cosy’) time. 

The land of humblebrag and its drunk, depressed, lazy, tumor-ridden, pig-bonking bureaucrats

In the American liberal compass, the needle is always pointing to places like Denmark

writes The New York Post's Kyle Smith (tack till Instapundit).

Everything they most fervently hope for here has already happened there.

So: Why does no one seem particularly interested in visiting Denmark? (“Honey, on our European trip, I want to see Tuscany, Paris, Berlin and . . . Jutland!”) Visitors say Danes are joyless to be around. Denmark suffers from high rates of alcoholism. In its use of antidepressants it ranks fourth in the world. (Its fellow Nordics the Icelanders are in front by a wide margin.) Some 5% of Danish men have had sex with an animal. Denmark’s productivity is in decline, its workers put in only 28 hours a week, and everybody you meet seems to have a government job. Oh, and as The Telegraph put it, it’s “the cancer capital of the world.”

So how happy can these drunk, depressed, lazy, tumor-ridden, pig-bonking bureaucrats really be?

Let’s look a little closer, asks Michael Booth, a Brit who has lived in Denmark for many years, in his new book, “The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia” (Picador).

Those sky-high happiness surveys, it turns out, are mostly bunk. Asking people “Are you happy?” means different things in different cultures. In Japan, for instance, answering “yes” seems like boasting, Booth points out. Whereas in Denmark, it’s considered “shameful to be unhappy,” newspaper editor Anne Knudsen says in the book.

Moreover, there is a group of people that believes the Danes are lying when they say they’re the happiest people on the planet. This group is known as “Danes.”
 
“Over the years I have asked many Danes about these happiness surveys — whether they really believe that they are the global happiness champions — and I have yet to meet a single one of them who seriously believes it’s true,” Booth writes. “They tend to approach the subject of their much-vaunted happiness like the victims of a practical joke waiting to discover who the perpetrator is.”

 … Denmark is a land of 5.3 million homogenous people. Everyone talks the same, everyone looks the same, everyone thinks the same.

This is universally considered a feature — a glorious source of national pride in the land of humblebrag. Any rebels will be made to conform; tall poppies will be chopped down to average.

 … One of the most country’s most widely known quirks is a satirist’s crafting of what’s still known as the Jante Law — the Ten Commandments of Buzzkill. “You shall not believe that you are someone,” goes one. “You shall not believe that you are as good as we are,” is another. Others included “You shall not believe that you are going to amount to anything,” “You shall not believe that you are more important than we are” and “You shall not laugh at us.”

 … Macho isn’t a problem in Sweden. Dubbed the least masculine country on Earth by anthropologist Geert Hofstede, it’s the place where male soldiers are issued hairnets instead of being made to cut their hair.

 … As for its supposedly sweet-natured national persona, in a poll in which Swedes were asked to describe themselves, the adjectives that led the pack were “envious, stiff, industrious, nature-loving, quiet, honest, dishonest and xenophobic.” In last place were these words: “masculine,” “sexy” and “artistic.”

Scandinavia, as a wag in The Economist once put it, is a great place to be born — but only if you are average. The dead-on satire of Scandinavian mores “Together” is a 2000 movie by Sweden’s Lukas Moodysson set in a multi-family commune in 1975, when the groovy Social Democratic ideal was utterly unquestioned in Sweden.

In the film’s signature scene, a sensitive-apron wearing man tells his niece and nephew as he is making breakfast, “You could say that we are like porridge. First we’re like small oat flakes — small, dry, fragile, alone. But then we’re cooked with the other oat flakes and become soft. We join so that one flake can’t be told apart from another. We’re almost dissolved. Together we become a big porridge that’s warm, tasty, and nutritious and yes, quite beautiful, too. So we are no longer small and isolated but we have become warm, soft and joined together. Part of something bigger than ourselves. Sometimes life feels like an enormous porridge, don’t you think?”

Then he spoons a great glutinous glob of tasteless starch unto the poor kids’ plates. That’s Scandinavia for you, folks: Bland, wholesome, individual-erasing mush. But, hey, at least we’re all united in being slowly digested by the system.