SUMMARY IN ENGLISH
CONTRA # 5 2009
Ethnic cleansing in the middle of Europe
by C G Holm
”Ethnic cleansing” is a term which lead your thoughts towards
Rwanda or Bosnia. But the practice has been used in more central parts
of Europe and the practice continues this very day. ”Ethnic cleansing”
is not necessarily performed with violence, it is fully possible to manage
it more efficiently – and with less badwill in the media –
through economic policies, education policies and government investements
in infrastructure and culture. This article discusses the situation for
the German and Hungarian minorities in Romania. The article is especially
concentrated to the German minority (which has decreased from ten to one
percent of the population). The basic interest in the article might have
increased as Herta Müller from the German minority in Romania was
awarded the Nobel Prize in litterature just two days after this issue
of Contra was sent to the printers.
Darwin is challenged – ”Intelligent Design”
by Tommy Hansson
2009 is the year for a double Darwin jubilee. 200 years since his birth
(1809–1892) and 150 years since the publication of his most well-known
book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. Darwin’s
thinking had a rapid impact and turned into the monopoly theory for the
explanation of the creation of life. During later years the new theory
of ”intelligent design” has been developed as a theory opposed
to Darwin’s.
The advocates of the ”intelligent design” theory question
the mechanical and materialistic points of view that are the foundations
of Darwin’s theory. They contest that all life has been developed
by chance and assumes that there is a creating intelligent force in the
Universe. Some call this intelligence ”God”
Local governments invests in leisure and culture
by Fredrik Runebert
Core missions of Swedish local government are care and education. Still
many local governments chose to cut back on care and education and put
more money into leisure and culture, which all agree are secondary tasks
for the local government. In spite of this reallocation of resources,
representatives of the local government asks for more subsidies from the
Central Government to add up to what they get from local taxes. This questions
have been studied by Lotta Moberg at the University of Lund and Jonas
Sigedal at the Stockholm School of Economics.
Seventy years since the Winter War
by Gunnar Palm
In November it is seventy years since the start of the Finnish Winter
War, when Finland was attacked by the Soviet Union in the beginning of
World War II. Finland defended itself and could stay an independent country,
as opposed to its weaker neighbours. Gunnar Palm tells about myths an
reality in connection with the Winter War.
Traditional ethics in crisis
by Allan C. Brownfeld
Ethics more and more seem to disappear as an important standard in Congress,
in business life and in other areas of our society. Unfortunately young
people observe the disrespect for moral standards among elder people and
start leading their lives in the same way. Unaffected by traditional morals
and ethical values.
The election in Lebanon: Keep Hizbollah out!
by Roni Doumit
The very same day as the Swedes participated in the election for the European
Parliament the Lebanese had the opportunity to show what Lebanon they
wanted to live in for the future. This was the second relatively free
election after the ”Cedar revolution” in 2005. Relatively
free as many groups still are controlled by militant groups. Roni Doumit,
living in Uppsala, Sweden, and and active candidate for the Lebanese parliament
describes the campaign and the election.
Limited tolerance for minorities in moslem countries
by C G Holm
Moslems in Sweden ask for adaption of the Swedish society in a way that
definitely is foreign to Swedish minds. But in moslem countries the very
same people operate a massive oppression of Christian and other religious
minorities. The article gives several examples from different moslem countries.
The freedom of Swedish parents severely limited by the government, by Bo C. Pettersson
Home education is used by a couple of hundred families in different parts
of Sweden. Usually it is chosen because of schools that are unable to
adapt to children with special needs or because of the special profile
of children or parents. The government is now in the process of abolishing
all home education. Home education is guaranteed in a number of international
conventions that have been signed by Sweden.
Swedish initiative behind the creation of WACL
by Tommy Hansson
The Baltic Committee was created in April 1943 in order to support the freedom struggle of the three Baltic countries that had been occupied by the Soviet Union. The leading man was Professor Birger Nerman. Later professor Birger Hagård, a member of the Swedish parliament (Conservative) was elected chairman of the Committee. As the three Baltic countries now are independent and democratic, the Committeee has been dissolved and a final book on the activiites of the Committee has been published. In the book you can read that the initiative to create the World Antic-Communist League originally came from the Baltic Committee (a uproposal put forward at the 1962 APACL conference in Taipei, Taiwan).
