Danish News: Loosening the Safety Net; A Clear Message to Non-Westerners; Congrats to Princess Mary

Was surprised to see on the nytimes.com homepage today a story about Denmark. Earlier this summer, some long-standing social net rules were changed.  For example, receiving up to 4 years' worth of unemployment benefits was halved to 2 years, for those becoming unemployed starting in July of this year.  This article mentions the type of course I am currently in, "Hurtigt i Gang".  My favorite quote from the article is

That has led to cases where laid-off workers spend an entire month in courses to improve their résumés, or tied up in “sit-around-and-drink-coffee meetings” to obtain unemployment checks.

Word.  I can't help but feel at times that my time would be better spent at home, where I can search for and apply for jobs in peace and quiet.  On the other hand, it is nice to be in a Danish-speaking environment with people whose Danish I am not used to hearing.  But when more than one person talks at a time, which is frequent in our meetings around the huge conference table, all hope of understanding is lost, and my brain feels like it shorts out.

In other social commentary, an Expat in Denmark blogger has written a piece about the latest Danish People's Party grand scheme to prohibit immigrants from non-Western countries.  Checking out the link is worth it, just to see the global map, and areas which are "OK'd" by the DPP (although personally, I believe that they really want to outlaw ALL immigration). 

And speaking of moving from one place to another, Expat in Denmark's logo is really starting to freak me out.  It's a black-and-white shot of a group of diverse-looking people, smiling at the camera, and wearing white clothes.  It kind of makes me think that I've gone to heaven, and only the expats in Denmark are welcoming me.  Is it freaky, or is it intentionally highly satirical???

At least, I have gone too long without mentioning the happy royal news: Crown Princess Mary is pregnant with twins.   The birth is expected in January.  This pleases me greatly, especially as all of the tabloid covers have shown a closeup of a very angry ex-princess Alexandra, superimposed with lovely shots of Mary smiling cheerfully.  Ha!  Even though Alexandra has flawless Danish, she can still be upset.  I know I should not take pleasure in others' misery, but after having her perfect example hung over my head more times than I know, this is different.  Plus, it's not really like she's angry about the new ex-brother-in-law's growing family, right?  That would just be petty, which is below royal behavior, right?

Well that's it, a smattering of news from Denmark.  I've now got to prepare for tomorrow's seminar by looking at a website of a facility that was hiring an occupational therapist.  For some reason, we have to study it a little, so we can have mock interviews as part of group work.  At least I think that's what I should do - like I said, too many people talking at once lead to short circuiting.  In any case, I can always look busy by drinking coffee.