Norwegian emergency plan to combat mad cow disease (Aftenposten)

The fear of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) is becoming endemic. On Wednesday the Gilde meat processing company withdrew 15 tons of sausage from the Norwegian market because the sausage skin was made from German cattle intestines. A special emergency group is now working at top speed to decide what should be done if mad cow disease is discovered in Norway. The plan of action must be ready by 1 March, and a specific information strategy is supposed to be ready by 1 April. The National Veterinary Institute, the Norwegian Animal Health Authority, the Norwegian Food Control Authority and the Norwegian Agricultural Inspection Service are each represented in the group by an expert in the field and by an information officer.

Norway: "Land of the crazy Vikings" (Dagbladet)

Two of Norway’s largest PR firms have investigated Norway’s image abroad, and have learned that the rest of the world regards Norway as "a half-crazy Viking country", "an odd country that is out of step with the rest of the world", and "a nation that lacks social intelligence". On Wednesday the international PR firm Burson-Marsteller contacted its colleagues in Germany, France and the USA to find out how the rest of the world sees Norway after the most recent environmental news about whaling and the culling of wolves. "More than one such item in the news at any one time is not good. In addition, there is growing international interest in animal protection," says a spokesman for one of the PR firms.

Record number of commitments to mental hospitals (Aftenposten)

Norway is at the top of the list in Europe with regard to committing mentally ill persons for treatment. Forty-five per cent of the patients in psychiatric hospitals were committed. Even in a Scandinavian context, Norway is in a class by itself. Four times as many patients are committed here as in Denmark. Many countries require a court judgement before committing patients, but this is not the case in Norway.

Taxes may be reduced (Aftenposten)

Minister of Finance Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen has announced that he is considering reducing the marginal tax on earned income. His goal is to reduce the gap between taxes on earned income and capital income. Capital income is currently taxed at 28 per cent, while most normal wage earners are in a much higher tax bracket. The proposal to reduce the marginal tax may be considered when the Government presents its fiscal budget in October.

Printing conflict may end up in court (Aftenposten)

Production of Aftenposten during the past few days has fallen by 730 000 issues. The labour conflict going on at the Schibsted-Trykk printing plant may now result in a lawsuit to the tune of millions of kroner. Aftenposten itself is preparing to sue for NOK 20 million. The conflict will probably be heard in the Labour Court on Thursday.

Children warned against electronic visiting cards (Vårt Land)

Norwegian Save the Children is now warning children and young people against supplying private information in "electronic visiting cards". "Don’t reveal your identity. You can never know who you are communicating with on the Internet," says Lars Grønseth of Save the Children. The organization is afraid that the information available may be misused by paedophiles.

Today's Comment from Dagsavisen:

The political hysteria surrounding mad cow disease in the rest of Europe has now reached Norway. We could probably not have expected it to be otherwise. Norwegians are enthusiastic meat-eaters, so any talk of tainted meat finds a large and immediate audience. After all, among the subjects that interest people the most are the weather and food. Unfortunately, Minister of Agriculture Bjarne Håkon Hanssen has expressed himself in a way that has created doubt as to whether it is safe to eat Norwegian beef. In this situation it is important to be aware of the impact of one’s statements, and he has not been paying attention. Mr. Hanssen is walking in a minefield. And behind each bush lurks an antagonistic representative of the agricultural sector and the Centre Party. However, putting all disagreements aside, the most important factor here is agreeing that both imported beef and Norwegian meat are as safe as they can possibly be.