The Copenhagen Climate Meeting – the politicians want to rule the world
by C G Holm

In December you are financing a gigantic meeting in Copenhagen which deals with climate change and what politicians should do against higher levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. The presumptions of the meeting are that we are experiencing a period of climate change, that this change has been caused by man, that the change is negative and that it is up to the politicians to take measures to stop the change. Contra doubts all the four presumptions.

Animal rights or human rights
by Fredrik Runebert

The more decent of animal rights activists use non-violence as method of promoting their views. But their ideology in its basics also creates the foundation for militant activists using violence against animal owners, hamburger restaurants and people who are destroying other people’s property. Animal rights activists advocate that animal have rights similiar to the rights of man, but they do not fully realize that animals lack the sense of responsibility that is connected with the human race, and that responsibility is also the foundation of human rights.

Twenty years after the Wall: We remember the fall of communism and the fall of the Berlin Wall
by Tommy Hansson

In November 1989 the Berlin Wall fell and within a couple of years a couple of hundred million people were liberated from Communist tyranny.

John Paul II – one of the most important people behind the fall of Communism
by David Stavenheim

Today twenty years have passed since the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. Three people were more important than other in the struggle for freedom for Eastern Europe: Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and John Paul II.

A life with Karol – My Forty-Year Friendship with the Man Who Became Pope is the title of a new book written by Stanislaw Dziwisz, the private secretary of the Pope. The book is a portrait of John Paul, but at the same time a dramtic narrative of the struggle between the Pope and Communism in Eastern Europe.

Christian Copts are persecuted in Egypt
by Roni Doumit

The Copts in Egypt are openly persecuted in their historic homeland along the shores of the Nile. Political islam has since a long time a stronghold in the country, with the Muslim Brotherhood as the strongest party in the country. During the past couple of years the moslem majority has developed an attitude of hatred towards the Coptic population The development is seen, but not acted on, by the authorities.

My Smuggling Trips to Tallinn
by Ann-Mari Lahti

Ann-Mari Lahti smuggled Bibles to Estonia during the 1970s. In practice the Bible was forbidden in the Soviet Union, although a small number was allowed to show that this was not the case. For a common member of a parish the Bible was unachievable, if it wasn’t smuggled into the Soviet Union or printed on secret underground printing presses. KGB soon found out about Ann-Mari and they had full control over her journeys to Estonia.

The Political Crisis in Moldavia
by Frank Gordons

During the past years political conflicts in Moldavia have grown. For a long time Moldavia has been controlled by people that were closely linked to the old guard in the Soviet Union. The country was focused on relations with Moscow, in spite of the common language, the cultural similarities and the shorter distance to Buchares. The present situation is fragile after a victory for the pro-Moscow party in a fake election in April and a narrow majority for the anti-Moscow parties in a freer election in July,. The pro-Moscow president Voronin has resigned, but there is only a temporary successor. New Contra contributor on East European affairs, Frank Gordons, writes on the development in Moldavia.

The Law on Employment Security is a threat to young, old, immigrants…
by Roger Klang

The Law on Employment Security was passed in 1981. Part of the structure of the law was intended to force old people to leave the labour market. Another part made it harder for young people to enter the market. And all combined the law weakens Sweden’s international competitiveness.