Circus Reinfeldt and the treason against the electorate
by Tommy Hansson
The paternal great great grandfather of the present Swedish Prime Minister was a circus manager. Although it might be to early to say that the present anti-socialist government is a failure after only 16 months, it must be said that it is a bit too much of a circus. The next election is not due until the fall of 2010. Still the major part of the elctorate must put big question marks for the performance of the government and the low polls show that they certainly do that. The main responsibility for the failure of the present policies must be put on the Prime Minister John Fredrik Reinfeldt (John after his great great grandfather, the circus manager). In most policy areas he has left the ideals of the Moderate Party as well as the views of those who elected him.
Social Democrats’ Concrete Power Base
In 1972 the British jounalist Roland Huntford published his book The New Totalitarians. The book was a sharp criticism against the Swedish society, the first society that by peaceful means, under the leadership of the Social Democrats, slowly moved by itself into totalitarianism. Huntford stressed the onesidedness of Swedish media and opinion and the fear to express contradictory views, a long tradition in Swedish history, to be traced back to King Gustav Vasa (1523–1560). Swedes are afraid of conflicts, they alwas try to achieve consensus and they always obey fiats from ”the superior poewer”. This is what is called the Social Democratic Concrete Power Base, also today with a an anti-socialist government. The new totalitarians are revisited in a new book by Carl Johan Ljunberg, Christian Swedberg and Jacob E:son Söderbaum.
In memory of the victims of Communism
by Allan C. Brownfeld
In September 2006 the erection of a monument for all the millions of victims of Communism was started in Washington D.C. Civil servants and representatives of The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, founded in 1994, cut the first symbolic sod for the project that was concluded in June 2007.
The only remaining kingdom in the Himalayas turns to democracy
by C G Holm
Himalaya has seen many kingdoms through the centuries. Mustang was founded in 1350 but was conquered by Nepal in the 18th century. Communist China occupied Tibet in 1951 and the political and spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai lama, fled to India in 1959. Sikkim was a buddhist kingdom conquered by India in 1975, from that year only a state within India. The hindu kingdom of Nepal will abolish monarchy in April this year. Leaving only one kingdom in the Himalayas, Bhutan. There significant changes are taking place with the introduction of democracy and a rapid economic development within the traditional buddhist framework. Contra contributing editor C G Holm reports from Bhutan.
European Union climate policy hits those that emit least greenhouse gases
by C G Holm
The European Union plans draconian measures against greenhouse gases. But in the recently published program the Union mixes ”renewable” with ”non greenhouse”. Countries with a large part of their energy generated by nuclear power are in spite of their low emissions required to make heavy and expensive cuts in emissions, while the ”dirtiest” couintries (mainly in Eastern Europe) are allowed to increase their emissions! Sweden and France with a high percentage of nuclear power are hit hard. And especially so Sweden, with only 3 percent of electric power generated by fossil fuels. And the Swedish government has not bothered to defend the interests of Sweden.