Nadeshda Savchenko

The cover of Contra this time shows Nadeshda Savchenko, an Ukrainian helicopter pilot. She was kidnapped in Ukraine and brought to Russia by Russian troops, because she defended her country against Russian aggression. She was earlier this year sentenced to 22 years imprisonment, as it was claimed that she had given coordinates to the Ukrainian artillery at a time when she was already taken into custody by Russian troops. When the sentence was read to her she stood up in her cage showed the finger to the court and sang the Ukrainian national anthem. She is an elected member of the Ukrainian parliament, the Rada.

 

New version of racism: Identity policies,
by Allan C. Brownfeld

”Identity policies” is an ever more popular part of the leftist attack against the modern democratic society. It is a method of reviving a since long dead racism and at the same time making a frontal attack on the freedom of expression. Only persons of a certai skin complexion, ethnic background or a certain religion are entitled to speak on certain topics.

The leading columnist in leftist Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, Lena Mellin, comments as follows: ”As I am told, identity policies, means that you put people into certaing boxes like black, LGBTQ, women or red haired. After that you state that only people in the right boxes are allowed to state views on the respective topics. If you are not a woman you are not allowed to give your views on gender equality, as you have no experience of living as a woman. The third restriction is which views you are to hold if you are put into a certain box. If you are a refugee you are requested to favour asylum for all refugees. One example, conservative MP Hanif Bali arrived as a unaccompanied three year old child to Sweden. He, and his party, advocate age-tests of people under the age of 18, when such tests can be made with precision. He is not allowed to hold that view according to the doctrines of identity policies”.

The minister for secondary education Aida Hadzialic has also attacked identity policies. And she has the privilege of being allowed to forward views according to several quotas. She is an immigrant (refugee from Bosnia), she is a woman and she is a moslem. She says that young Swedes living on the countryside has as big difficulties to be integrated in the modern society as kids in the ethnically segregated suburbs of the big cities.

As many other polictical fads the identity policies emanate from the United States. Contra’s Washington correspondent Allan C. Brownfeld gives an American background.

When Fidel Castro dies,
by Kjell Albin Abrahamson

The Swedish left should not cry crocdile tears when Fidel Castro dies. They should instead be ashamed of their long support for one of the world’s worst dictators.

The girl from Nordmark sues for damages,
by Patrik Nyberg

For many years the ”Nordmark girl” (and her brother) have been persecuted by local social authorities, not accepting their complaints against their mother. Finally at 21 the Nordmark girl has come of age and is now suing for damages from the government.

The tax change is already more than completed, by C G Holm

The economist Jacob Lundberg has studied the size of ”tax change” according to the polluter pays principle. His conclusion is that the polluter already pays a lot more than the damages pollution causes society.

The Russian threat against Sweden,
by Britt-Louise Hoberg Karlsson

Roger Mikael Klang has recently published two books with the title Revolution in Military Affairs.

The media sweetheart The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, by Tommy Hansson

Why does media always have a benevolent loook on The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation? The question is posed by Mats Olin in a booklet published by Timbro Media Institute. The Swedish Society of Nature Conservation is one of very few organizations that may advocate its views without any critical examination by the media.

The secular pilgrimage of the Christian Democrats, by Britt-Louise Hoberg Karlsson

The Swedish Christian Democratic Party says that their program is based on Christian values in order to attract Christian voters. But is this true?

Increased discontent in Russia,
by Tommy Hansson

More and more we see a worry in Russia for the stability of the loyalty of Russian citizens. Brian Whitmore, from Radio Free Europe, gives several such examples in his blog, The Power Vertical. Like the fact that the very centre of Russian propaganda, the TV tower Ostrankino in Moscow, have got a barbed wire-topped wall.

Prosecutor forced to prosecute according to the feminist agenda of the Office of the Cahncellor of Justice, by Patrik Nyberg

The Office of the Chancellor of Justice last year decided to prosecute the publisher of a homepage that was considered to have libelled journalist Monica Antonsson. Usually libel is a civil suit and it is very exceptional that a public authority is part of the proceedings. The indicted man, John Johansson, is claiming that he has only countered libel put forward on the blog of Antonsson. The fight between Johansson and Antonsson has been on for several years.

Unaccompanied refugee children cost a lot,
by C G Holm

In the end of 2015 40 per cent of unaccompanied refugee ”children” arriving to Europe sought asylum in Sweden. Not odd as Sweden has an extraordinary favourable system for these ”children” (often young men from Afghanistan claiming to be 16 or 17, often however significantly older). The cost of Swedish authorities to take care of one single such ”child” is approximately 1 million kronor (125 000 dollars) a year. More than an ordinary family of four with two fulltime working parents may spend on the entire family.