SUMMARY IN ENGLISH
CONTRA # 2 2009
Parallells
between "autonomous" groups and the Baader Meinhof gang
by Tommy Hansson
After the end of the Cold War and the economic crisis during the 1990s
there was a resurgence for left-wing extremism. We could call it a new
form of fascism with an ever increasing pace of intolerance and worship
of violence. During the last year we have seen crimes like supermarket
arson and attempted murders. It very much is similar to what was experienced
during the time of the Baader Meinhof gang.
Folke Bernadotte – arbitrator and murder victim
by David Stavenheim
Count Folke Bernadotte (1895-1948) is today forgotten by the official
Swedish society. He was the son of Prince Oscar and his wife Ebba Munck
av Fulkila. The father, a younger brother of King Gustavus V, was an active
Christian and he was the man mentioned (together with a third brother,
the painter Eugen) in the poem by Victor Rydberg: ”Princes are not
born the same, one wants to paint, another wants to preach”. Count
Bernadotte became well-known on the international scene when he arranged
the ”White Buses”, which brought 15,000 camp prisoners in
Germany into Swedish safety during the spring of 1945. After the end of
the World War he was appointed a UN arbitrator in the British Mandate
Palestine. He was killed by the Stern Gang (in Israel usually called Lehi).
Medieval lifestyle still alive in Sharia Law
by C G Holm
Sharia is the law practice in moslem societies and is claimed to be based on the Quran. In some countries Sharia Law is the only legal source, while in other it is supported by more modern legislation. In still other countries groups apply Sharia Law when possible – for example in civil law cases. If the parties agree in a civil law case it is usually fully possible to apply a legal system of the parties mutual choice. In some countries Sharia Law is also used in criminal law. Sharia is in its basis very remote from the principles that could be accepted in an enlightened society.
Escaping responsibility
by Stig Daun
The philosopher and Nobel Prize Winner Jean-Paul Sartre established the expression ”To exist for others” as a human sense when we desperately try to apply conventions and adjust ourselves to the image we thinbk others expect from us. Sartre was a master in descirbing the landscape of escape, the flight from respionsibility. In the existing financial crisis we see the hunt fpor scapegoats. An analysis of the cause and effects is necessary. But already before world leaders have found a new world order we can note that most decisions today were taken by people who have tried to avoid a personal responsibility.
Ceasar and other political murders
by Tommy Hansson
Political murders have been seen in all time. The most famous political
murder was the murder of the Roman dictator Gaius Julius Ceasar March
15 in the year 44 BC. The murder was planned by a group of patricians
who wanted to eliminate a man they saw planning the abolishment of old
Republican traditions. Other political murders have been committed by
lunatics with no political motives, like the murder of the Swedish Foreign
Secretary Anna Lindh in 2003.
A Swedish culture should be the norm in Sweden
Dick Erixon interviewed by C G Holm
Dick Erixon is one of Sweden’s most well-known bloggers. He also
is chairman of Medborgarrättsrörelsen (the Civil Rights Movement)
since 2007. The organization was founded by legendary Supreme Court Justice
Gustaf Petrén, who was the champion of applyinbg the principles
in the European Convention on Human Rights in Swedish society. Erixon
is also well-known for his support of former US president George W Bush.
The very day power was transferred from Bush to Obama he published an
article in one of Sweden’s best-selling newspapers, Expressen, stressing
the importance of Bush’ idealistic view on foreign policy as opposed
to pragmatism advocated by earlier Presidents. He was worried that Obama
would turn back US foreign policy into a pragmatic policy without moral
guidlines.
New Zealand introduced a new thinking on government
by Maurice P. McTigue
New Zealand had a malfunctioning educational system. Some 30 per cent
of the kids, especially those from lower social strata, were left with
unsufficient education. We could have doubled the budget of education
and still not achieved any results. We had increased the education budget
for twenty years and all the time the level of achieved knowledge dropped.
We decided to try something new. The former cabninet member Maurice P.
McTigue tells about the break with old socialist regulation and the return
of New Zealand to one of the world’s most developed countries.
Rest in Peace our beloved lightbulb
by Toivo Kuuskla
”May you live in interesting times” is the wording of an ancient Chinese curse. And yes, we live in interesting times. And still more interesting it will be when environment maniacs will have their way. The European Union has decided to ban the lightbulb, starting later this year. The reason for the ban is dubious and the effects are very far-reaching. The benefits are almost non-existent.
