Cover photo:
Swedish aircraft and US B-52 over the Baltic
Four Saab 39 Gripen from the Royal Swedish Air Force escorts a US B-52 at the BALTOPS15 excercise over the Baltic Sea.
Leader: Unfortunately the December Agreement has survived its supposed death
The infamous ”December Agreement” included a promise from the the four major opposition parties not to vote for their own proposals in budget votes in the parliament. The agreement was impopular among party members and was officially foiled in October 2015. But informally the agreement has survived.
GMO saves the food supplies, by C G Holm
Under the headline ”Doomsday Delayed” Contra will cover a number of subjects where doomsday prophets have failed. A few decades ago starvation and diminishing food supplies were high on the agenda. Thanks to ”the green revolution” food supplies increased and starvation declined. But more improvements are needed to feed the two billion additional people we will see in the coming 35 years. GMOs are the most promising solutions.
Leftists don’t see the difference between migrants and refugees,
by Kjell Albin Abrahamson
Intolerance in the political arena make Swedish leftist extremists much to influential. To label all opponents ”fascist” is actually based on intolerant ideologies, like fascism. The author compares Sweden with Germany, where he lives part of the year, and Germany definitely has a more free climate for discussions.
Free speech under attack,
by Allan C. Brownfeld
Free speech is not self evident in the US. Attack on free speech is repeated and it should be noticed that much of the attacks is based in Universities, where the Academia should be a bulwark, not an enemy, of free speech.
Water protection ridiculously comprehensive,
by C G Holm
Small brooks, as narrow as 20 centimetres and dry large parts of the year, trigger the ”strand protection law” (adopted in 1975) which bans construction on the site (there are exceptions). The picture shows the author on a the bottom of 40 centimetre wide brook which bans construction on 95 per cent of 30 acre farm
Stasi managed East German propaganda aimed at teachers, by Tommy Hansson
When Sweden recognized East Germany in 1972 the East Germans immediately started a propaganda offensive including cross-Baltic cooperation. Teachers were of special interest and Swedish teachers in German (the second most common foreign language in Sweden) were invited to the Communist state. Stasi managed the programs.
Why communism, islamism, nazism and fascism have common traits, by André Juthe
It is widely known ttaht communism, islamism, nazism and fascism are the worst totalitarian systems in the history of mankind. Less well-known is that the ideologiess have a common philosophical core. The closeness of communism and nazism is not a new idea. But looking deep at the ideologies islamism must also be linked to the other ideologies. André Juthé is a PhD in the theory of analytical argumentation at the Unviersity of Amsterdam.
Low return on investment in education in Sweden, by Fredrik Runebert
In a speech this summer Swedish prime minister Stefan Löfven said that inequality is unnecessary and dangerous. Increased equlity in practice means reduced income differences. Such changes are expected to decrease social unrest. But what does this mean in one of the world’s most equal societies? The return on higher education in Sweden is only 4 per cent, the lowest figure among comparable countries. In the US, Poland and Germany the return is between 8 and 11 per cent. Can Swedish competivieness be upheld with such low returns on investments in education?