Incredible electoral systems: Usa vs. Sweden

Swedish ballots in full display, forcing people to vote openly

Voting procedures, a race to the bottom: Fascist Regime Style vs. Banana Republic Quirks. This article contains the ultimate argument in favor of Voter ID laws in the US. Please sit back and enjoy the ride; alternatively you can skim it, relax and skip entire chapters. I’m not used to being surprised anymore. But I was floored by the revelation that international observers, called to oversee the Swedish election for the first time due to fears for a victory for the party of xenophobes, found an unbelievable flaw in the system. One that is obviously favoring the establishment. A hideous ulcer hiding in plain sight. This is as good an occasion…

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Imaginary conversation on a plane in Sweden

This young student, Elin Ersson, became an instant celebrity because she took a stand against the deportation of an Afghan man from Sweden to Afghanistan: she boarded the passenger plane with which he was being sent out of the country and refused to sit down, protesting the deportation while recording the incident on a Facebook video. Teary eyed, she must have felt immensely proud for her bravery and humanitarian commitment while the sheepish Goteborg airport authorities caved in and disembarked the man. This is 2018: people her age have no memory of a world before 9/11. Nowadays air travel is subject to all sorts of security checks: you can be…

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Martin Luther a sort of Christian Icon? Not In My Name

What would you say if you were a Lutheran? Today in Catholic countries we celebrate All Saints’ Day. Yesterday the Pope went to Sweden to open this ill-fated year of celebrations for the 500th of the so-called Protestant Reformation. As a Catholic representative, of course. Now, to better grasp how absurd all of this is, try to put yourself in the shoes of a Lutheran (if you are not already a Lutheran, that is). Please appreciate the behavior of the Pope and his entourage of sycophants/commentators/self-appointed-spokespersons, as seen from the perspective of someone who’s coming from a distance. Consider the implications of the photo I put here above. This is not…

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