Apparently, the opposition to female genital mutilation is now considered "cultural imperialism" by some.

Moderate Party: 21.6%
Liberal Party: 6.6%
Centre Party: 6.0%
Christian Democrats: 4.4%
Government: 38.7%

Social Democrats: 46.2%
Green Party: 6.0%
Communist Left: 5.0%
Opposition: 57.3%

The latest opinion poll gives Sweden's centre-right government coalition support by less than 39 per cent of the voters. That's a disaster. In September 2006, the same four-party coalition managed to get a majority of the seats in parliament. Now they would get fewer seats that the largest opposition party alone.

I think one of the explanations can be found in the lack of ideology. Most high-ranking politicians seem to think ideology has no importance in modern society—they think it is outdated. I disagree.

I see an obvious connection between the Moderate Party's political triangulation and the decline of voter interest. Since Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt became leader of the party, he has used triangulation in order to take voters from the Social Democrats. In the beginning, it seemed a bold move that voters appreciated. However, over time—as the ideological differences between the liberal-conservatives and social democrats has turned blurry—people no longer see any significance in voting one way or another. That's why silly, little scandals get such an importance. When politics doesn't matter, when the Left and the Right are the same, tabloid journalism about who's kissing who in nightclub restaurants seem more important.

It's time to put an end to triangulation. It trivializes politics and turn political life into a farce. I want the centre-right coalition to rethink some of its policies and give the electorate a real choice in the 2010 general election. It's not too late to turn things around, but we have no time to lose.

Read more about the latest poll here and here.

Scandalous! Abortion questioner is declared Edwards supporter; Log Cabin Republican questioner is declared Obama supporter; lead toy questioner is a prominent union activist for the Edwards-endorsing United Steelworkers...

This has to be embarrassing for the CNN.

In a truly democratic society, people are free to do whatever they wish with their right to vote. Deciding not to vote in a free and fair election is a vote of sort and should be respected as such. Low turnout in free elections is not a democratic problem. In fact, I think it could just as well be interpreted as being the exact opposite. High-ranking European politicians and bureaucrats seem to be of a different opinion.

Margot Wallström, Vice-President of the European Commission, wants to spend seven million of taxpayer euros on fighting low turnout at European elections. From the EU Observer:

Just days after only 29 percent of the Romanian electorate turned out for the country's first ever European elections, MEPs said that European political parties—currently numbering ten—should be able to use public money to finance political campaigns.

They also voted to set up political foundations. These institutions—to get €7 million in EU funds next year—will be politically affiliated to a particular European party and will be designed to get people talking about Europe.

Welcoming the news, EU communications commissioner Margot Wallstrom, who proposed the plans earlier this year, said "Europe really needs genuine debate and political controversy to engage citizens."

Ridiculous.

Right now, I'm watching the Republican CNN/YouTube debate in Florida. I will try to post comments on the debate. Bare with me, this is my first attempt at live blogging.
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2:33: Mitt Romney is a through-and-through populist. I don't like Mike Huckabee, but on the debate on tuition fees, I stand by him against Romney's disgusting populism.
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2:49: Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform asked the candidates if they oppose tax increases. Everyone answered yes, but Ron Paul was the only one who mentioned the need to cut spending. Good for him.
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2:54: Romney: "I'm proud to be pro-life." Who isn't? I never met anyone proud to be pro-death. (Yes, I know it's political spin terminology, but still...)
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3:01: Funniest blog comment so far: "Hi-def. Is it Thompson's worst enemy." From here.

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3:09: What would you do about deadly black-on-black crime in America? Romney: "Get more moms and dads. Family values." Yeah, that's something the president can bring about. Get real!
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3:14: I'm completely behind Rudy Giuliani on abortion.
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3:20: Do you believe every word in the Bible? Romney: "I believe the Bible is the word of God." Well, read the book and it's obvious that neither God nor Jesus second that.
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3:27: "Let us win, let us win!" is John McCain's message to the US troops in Iraq.
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3:31: McCain: "We're not going to torture people. We're not going to do what Pol Pot did."
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3:32: McCain to Romney: Life is not '24'. "I will never allow torture."
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3:36: Ron Paul on Iraq: "The best we can do to the Iraqis is to give them their country back."
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3:48: I have at least one reader!!! Someone sent me this cartoon a minute ago. (Thanks!) Suitable since Rudy Giuliani just now had to answer a question about him using the 9/11 terror attack as a ticket to the White House.

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3:51: Apparently American soldiers are so sensitive that they cannot even be in the same room as gays.
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4:01: Why won't African-Americans vote for the Republicans? Rudy Giuliani seems confused. Mike Huckabee takes over.
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4:06: I'm getting really bored with Giuliani babbling on about what he did as mayor in New York.
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4:09: Ron Paul just said he will not run as an independent. He's a Republican.
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4:12: The debate ends.

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4:17: In my opinion, tonight's winner is Mike Huckabee. I hate what he stands for, and I would never vote for him even if I could, but in the debate he came through as the sincere candidate.
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4:19: If I were an American voter and had to pick a candidates in tonight's debate it would be John McCain for his strong stand against torture.
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4:24: The debate is over and I have had my first live-blogging experience. Over and out.
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The End.

From the Guardian:

President Hugo Chávez is encountering unexpectedly strong opposition to a referendum on constitutional reform which would cement his rule in Venezuela, with violent clashes between rival demonstrations and security forces feeding a mood that the country is at a turning point.

According to opinion polls, the socialist leader could lose this Sunday's vote amid unease over his radical policies and ambition to stay in power for decades.

Defections from his movement's ranks and food shortages have galvanised a student-led opposition campaign which is due to climax at a final rally in downtown Caracas today.

The people of Venezuela seem less fond of Chávez than his fans in Europe and North America want us to believe. I don't want to appear too optimistic, but I truly hope the Chávez camp loses the referendum on Sunday. It would be a disaster otherwise.

"Madonna has horrified animal activists after dyeing her sheep blue, pink, yellow and green for a Vogue spread at their English country estate, in Wiltshire," Bre Horan of Australian Daily Telegraph reports. "Why is it necessary and what are they trying to prove? It is an irresponsible publicity stunt. It sends out the wrong message about how to use animals," an activist says to the newspaper.

(Via Henrik Alexandersson.)

A "beard cap" by Vik Prjónsdóttir. This winter's must-have.

Cynthia Johnston of Reuters reports:

The video-sharing Web site YouTube has suspended the account of a prominent Egyptian anti-torture activist who posted videos of what he said was brutal behaviour by some Egyptian policemen, the activist said.

Wael Abbas said close to 100 images he had sent to YouTube were no longer accessible, including clips depicting purported police brutality, voting irregularities and anti-government demonstrations. YouTube, owned by search engine giant Google, did not respond to a written request for comment. A message on Abbas's YouTube user page, [link], read: "This account is suspended."

"They closed it (the account) and they sent me an e-mail saying that it will be suspended because there were lots of complaints about the content, especially the content of torture," Abbas told Reuters in a telephone interview. Abbas, who won an international journalism award for his work this year, said that of the images he had posted to YouTube, 12 or 13 depicted violence in Egyptian police stations.

Abbas was a key player last year in distributing a clip of an Egyptian bus driver, his hands bound, being sodomised with a stick by a police officer—imagery that sparked an uproar in a country where rights groups say torture is commonplace.

I understand YouTube doesn't want violence on their website, but I think there ought to be an exception for this kind of material.

Everyone should read Johan Norberg's article (in Swedish) on liberalism and the environment in Expressen. Where other intellectuals see proof of the most horrid dystopian nightmares, Norberg sees an opportunity for improvements.

Yoko Kubota of Reuters reports:

Twendy-One, named as a 21st century edition of a previous robot, Wendy, has soft hands and fingers that gently grip, enough strength to support humans as they sit up and stand, and supple movements that respond to human touch.

It can pick up a loaf of bread without crushing it, serve toast and help lift people out of bed.

"It's the first robot in the world with this much system integration," said Shigeki Sugano, professor of mechanical engineering at Waseda University, who led the Twendy-One project (http://twendyone.com) and demonstrated the result on Tuesday.

"It's difficult to balance strength with flexibility."

The robot is a little shorter than an average Japanese woman at 1.5 m (5 ft), but heavy-set at 111 kg (245 lb). Its long arms and a face shaped like a giant squashed bean mean it resembles the alien movie character E.T.

Twendy-One has taken nearly seven years and a budget of several million dollars to pull together all the high-tech features, including the ability to speak and 241 pressure-sensors in each silicon-wrapped hand, into the soft and flexible robot.

The robot put toast on a plate and fetched ketchup from a fridge when asked, after greeting its patient for the demonstration with a robotic "good morning" and "bon appetit".

Sugano said he hoped to develop a commercially viable robot that could help the elderly and maybe work in offices by 2015 with a price tag of around $200,000.

I need a robot to do my sandwiches. Where can I sign up for one?

While any hint of toleration of illegal narcotics is taboo in Sweden, organizations elsewhere have no problems with combining a harm-reduction message with reality. Not that everyone agrees, but still.

And here is another example of down-to-earth religiousness:

A British primary school teacher has been arrested in Sudan, accused of insulting Islam's Prophet by letting her class of 7-year-olds name a teddy bear Mohammed, her school said on Monday.

Colleagues of Gillian Gibbons, aged 54 from Liverpool, told Reuters they feared for her safety after receiving reports that young men had already started gathering outside the Khartoum police station where she was being held.

Teachers at Unity High School in central Khartoum said Gibbons made an innocent mistake and simply let her pupils choose their favorite name for the toy as part of a school project.

Jane Fowler thinks it's about time college students explain safe sex to their grandparents.

Oh, I agree. The elderly think they can fool us by acting all slow and judgemental when what they really think about is sex, sex, sex.

OK, I'm exaggerating, but I'm not kidding. A few years ago, I worked extra at a home for old people and discovered how deceptive their appearance can be. Many will not believe it, but some men and women in their eighties subscribe to pornographic movies on cable TV, order lubricant online, and have one-night-stands. So yes, safe-sex information is truly something for the elderly.

Mark Poole wrote this informative article about Sodom in 2005, but I haven't seen it before now. I think it's well worth a read for those still convinced that the sins of Sodom have something to do with homosexuality as we know it today.

Don't forget to read Göran Koch-Swahne's comment below the article itself!

My online journal is making a profit for the first time. It's not a huge profit (it's tiny), but the revenue from advertising and a modest private sponsorship will not only make ends meet, but actually give me some money to invest in further improvements.

This year has seen a few changes. In July, I began to use TypePad instead of the self-made semi-manual publishing tool I had used so far. That meant the cost of running this journal doubled. It was worth it though. Publishing entries is much easier now, and the new platform made it possible to allow trackbacks and reader comments—although I have to admit these are fewer than I anticipated.

This is still a small blog compared even to some of the most successful Swedish ones. However, over the past twelve months, the number of visitors a day has more than doubled, and the number of RSS subscribers has nearly tripled. That's a success of sort. An interesting thing is that most new visitors live in the United States, Israel, and Britain. Only about 40 per cent of visitors live in Sweden. A year ago that figure was closer to 60 per cent.

Finally, I want to thank all readers who support this journal by clicking on the advertisements. Thank you!

In the Washington Post, Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch write about the libertarian influence on American politics:

In April 2006, the Pew Research Center published a study suggesting that 9 percent of Americans—more than enough to swing every presidential election since 1988—espouse a "libertarian" ideology that opposes "government regulation in both the economic and the social spheres." That is, a good chunk of your fellow citizens are fiscally conservative and socially liberal; in bumper-stickerese, they love their countrymen but distrust their government.

Sarah Tarnowski thinks Swedes suffer from a deeply-rooted commitment-phobia:

Swedish chain stores Ikea and H&M have enabled people around the world to buy fashionable clothes and bright, trendy furniture at knock-down prices. The cheap prices mean you can buy a t-shirt today and not worry about whether you will still like it a week from now.

But clothes and furniture are not the only things Sweden has turned into disposable goods—the country has also become a pioneer in disposable marriages, and has the dubious distinction of being the world's divorce capital.

While buying clothes and getting married may seem like two very different choices, some sociologists argue that the low-commitment attitudes to both are essential parts of the Swedish dedication to modernity.

Poll says Chavez loses Venezuela referendum lead, Reuters reports:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has lost his lead eight days before a referendum on ending his term limit, an independent pollster said on Saturday, in a swing in voter sentiment against the Cuba ally.

Forty-nine percent of likely voters oppose Chavez's proposed raft of constitutional changes to expand his powers, compared with 39 percent in favor, a survey by respected pollster Datanalisis showed.

Just weeks ago, Chavez had a 10-point lead for his proposed changes in the OPEC nation that must be approved in a referendum, the polling company said.

Despite the swing, company head Luis Vicente Leon said he did not rule out a comeback by the popular president.

Chavez has trounced the opposition at the polls on average once a year and can deploy a huge state-backed machinery to get out the vote, Leon said.

Dictator Chávez is not amused by the polls, which may be why he makes new threats. The Associated Press reports:

President Hugo Chavez warned his supporters on Friday that anyone voting against his proposed constitutional changes would be a "traitor," rallying his political base before a referendum that would let him seek unlimited re-election in 2012 and beyond.

Brandishing a little red book listing his desired 69 revisions to Venezuela's charter, Chavez exhorted his backers to redouble their efforts toward a victorious "yes" vote in the Dec. 2 ballot.

"He who says he supports Chavez but votes 'no' is a traitor, a true traitor," the president told an arena packed with red-clad supporters. "He's against me, against the revolution and against the people."

The last quote says it all, I think. Like a mediaeval king, Chávez really believes he is the people. That's only one step from declaring himself a god.

Via the Monkey Tennis Centre:

From the Red Cross First Aid Manual for Combatants, Gaza edition.

Lesson 1: Casualty with severed head:

1. Retrieve head from celebrating mob.

2. Carefully reattach head to neck as shown.

3. Remove video of beheading from internet.

4. Prop casualty up in a chair.

5. Call AP and Reuters, and get them to photograph the casualty, explaining to them that he's in excellent health, but has suffered mild whiplash in a car accident, and is having a nap.

6. When AP/Reuters have gone, remove head again.

7. Wait 24 hours.

8. Call AP/Reuters and tell them casualty has been run over by Israeli bulldozer.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: "Prime Minister John Howard has rung Labor leader Kevin Rudd to concede defeat after voters deserted his 11-year government in tonight's federal election."

John Howard's homophobia and racism have given liberalism a bad name in Australia. With him gone, Australia's liberal movement might be able to recover and reconnect with its liberty-loving roots.

Make the world better by purchasing something made in a poverty-stricken country.

It is quite chocking actually. The Associated Press reports:

The U.S. dollar dropped below the 108 yen level early Friday in New York for the first time since June 2005, reflecting the expanding credit crisis.

At 8:30 a.m., the dollar was quoted at 107.90-108.00 yen, compared with its 5 p.m. Thursday quotes of 109.11-14 yen in Tokyo.

In Asian trading on Friday, the U.S. currency tumbled to as low as 107.55 yen. Then it rallied to the upper 107 yen level in later London trading.

U.S. financial markets were closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday while Japanese markets were closed Friday for a national holiday.

At 8:30 a.m. in New York, the euro traded at $1.4800-4810 and 159.80- 90 yen against $1.4813-4816 and 161.66-70 yen in Tokyo.

In earlier Asian trading on Friday, the single European currency reached $1.4968, the highest level since its introduction in 1999.

The war on drugs isn't really working, is it? You have to be extremely narrow-minded to think it is, which is exactly why the prohibitionist authorities (in this case the US Drug Enforcement Administration) want everyone to see this chart instead:

Read more on Michael Dobbs and Washington Post's "Fact Checker" blog.

The winners are in.

One of Malmö's canals at midnight; seen through a shaky camera.

(I prefer to label my blurry images artwork. It worked for Jackson Pollock—and I want to be a bipolar artist, too.)

The New York Times's "City Room" blog asked a few experts.

Laura Dern or Katherine Harris? You decide.

"The raw truth about power and ambition in Florida." Hm...

The Mayor of Yakima, Washington, has asked City Councilman Rick Ensey to resign after his wife posted some unfounded rumours on her private blog.

I have often wondered why so many of Sweden's socialist bloggers are keen on routinely erasing reader comments written by conservatives and libertarians. Luc de Clapiers (Marquis de Vauvenargues) offers a clue.

(Cartoon by John Cox.)

Mats Qviberg skriver om Ayn Rand:

Ingen som läst Rand kan med bevarad självaktning hävda att "pengar är roten till allt ont". Pengar är tvärtom symbolen för god vilja och respekt människor emellan. Människor förfogar över sitt eget intellekt och sitt eget arbete och byter dessa bara mot andras arbete och produkter på frivillig grund.

Det är alltså ingen slump att det heter goda affärer. Förmågan att skapa välstånd är vad som lyft mänskligheten och civilisationen. Den är inget att skämmas och be om ursäkt för, inte heller något att gömma bakom aldrig så motiverad generositet och välgörenhet. Som Margaret Thatcher en gång konstaterade hade ingen kommit ihåg den barmhärtige samariten om han bara varit barmhärtig, han hade pengar också.

Sveriges Television har problem med sina vinklade nyheter.

This is one of those extra busy days when there is no time for blogging. While on a short break between meetings, I noticed that Attila Toth's new blog "Kaffekoppen" comments on the food-shortage in Venezuela. I wrote about this most obvious failure of Chávez's neo-communism on 30 October 2007. In a world were despots like Chávez are idolized by the post-"Cold War" generation, it's very important that we who oppose totalitarianism speak out about the similarities between the new charismatic socialism and the Soviet-style socialism that made millions starve to death.

A teenage Saudi gang-rape victim who has been sentenced to six months in prison and two hundred lashes has decided to fight the verdict. The Sydney Morning Herald reports:

Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites, applies a rigorous doctrine of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism. It imposes strict segregation of the sexes and a host of restrictions on women, who may not mix with men other than relatives and must cover from head to toe in public.

The 19-year-old's identity has not been revealed but she has become known as "Qatif girl," after the Shi'ite-populated area of Al-Qatif in the Eastern Province she hails from.

After the rape in October 2006, she was sentenced to 90 lashes for having been in a car with a man who is not a relative.

The Higher Judicial Council granted a retrial, but, on November 14, a court toughened her sentence to six months in jail and 200 lashes.

The judges decided to punish the woman further for "her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media," a court source told the English-language daily Arab News.

The court also revoked the licence of Lahem, a leading human rights activist. He has also been summoned by the justice ministry to appear before a disciplinary panel next month.

In the court's view, the girl, who was 18 at the time of the incident, was guilty because she was in the company of a male stranger who apparently had pictures of her she wanted to take back.

Read more here.

The Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow is suing the Russian Culture Minister Alexander Sokolov after he attacked an exhibit that featured a photo of two policemen kissing. AFP reports:

"The minister has offended the Tretyakov Gallery when he notably accused us of corruption," Valentin Rodionov told AFP. "On Monday, I filed suit against him."

Last month, Sokolov said the exhibit was a "disgrace to Russia" and singled out the photo of the two uniformed policemen locked in a passionate kiss as an example of pornographic material.

The minister then banned the photo, entitled "Kissing Policemen", from being included in an exhibition in Paris' La Maison Rouge which is running until January 20.

Background here, here, and here.

The New York Times presents its new building with pride. I don't blame them; their new home is spectacular.

Delaware State Police have arrested 26-year-old Ardonas Gilbert for running about naked on a Pennsylvania highway. Is this a new trend?

In general, men are more beautiful than women.* I know many people disagree with me on this, but I can see a purely aesthetic argument for being gay. Of course, not all men are beautiful all the time. In fact, some men seem to work very hard at making a slovenly impression. But with a tiny bit of effort, most men can be handsome.

One thing that is easy to do and work miracles is a nicely tied tie. Nine out of ten men look good in a shirt and tie. However, I sense that many men find it difficult to do a nice tie knot. Often they turn out too tight or too loose. When I married my husband I had to do his tie for him since he was unable to. And since then, I have heard many of my friends complain about the same thing. They never seem able to do a nice and comfortable knot.

A problem on the scale of global warming, I thought, and set about looking for help online.

And then, earlier tonight, I came across a website with easy-to-follow instructions on how to tie a tie. A "ties for dummies". Here is what it says about my favourite—the Windsor Knot:

The Windsor Knot is a thick, wide and triangular tie knot that projects confidence. It would therefore be your knot of choice for presentations, job interviews, courtroom appearances etc. It is best suited for spread collar shirts and it's actually quite easy to do.

While just about everyone can use this tie knot to tie his tie, it looks especially well on men with longer necks as its wide form shortens the perceived height of the neck a little bit.

And here's how you do it:

Good luck!

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* I often hear the opposite being stated as "a fact", so I allow myself to be a little provocative. Any claim like this is highly subjective anyway.

I don't endorse any political violence, but I do appreciate a witty name when I see it. From The Local:

Environmental activists in Stockholm have taken to sabotaging SUVs as a means of prompting motorists to cut down on carbon dioxide emissions.

On Monday night, ten vehicles in the capital were targeted by a group calling itself The Indians of the Concrete Jungle.

As has become customary in recent months, the activists made their point by letting the air out of the tyres of Sports Utility Vehicles. According to police, the tyres are sometimes slashed before the environmentalists move on to their next target.

Wittily nutty.

I want Christmas to be a happy occasion, so here's my gift to everyone I know.

The New York Times reports of a scientific breakthrough that could prove vital in the fight against cancer, Alzheimer's, and other life-threatening diseases. "Two teams of scientists are reporting today that they turned human skin cells into what appear to be embryonic stem cells without having to make or destroy an embryo," the newspaper writes.

A Swedish man is taking his employer of thirty-three years to court after he was sacked for buying sex from two prostitutes while on a business trip to China. I hope he wins.

Jag känner igen Patrik Anderssons berättelse allt för väl. När jag tagit upp Rättvisemärkt till diskussion har socialdemokrater och miljöpartister systematiskt försökt att ignorerar alla invändningar. Dock har det varit intressant att i mer informella samtal få medhåll i kritiken mot ett system som innebär att rika svenskar bestämmer hur fattiga arbetare i Sydamerika ska organisera sig och vad göra för sina inkomster. Sanningen är ju att svenska arbetare aldrig skulle kunnat ta sig ur fattigdomen om det inte vore för den frihet man nu gärna vill förvägra arbetare i andra länder.

(Via Dyslesbisk and Johan Ingerö.)

The choice is between a sexually intolerant God, or no god at all? Read Eric Scheie's rather interesting take on the issue.

An estimated 500,000 people have downloaded a ringtone of Spain's King Juan Carlos telling Venezuelan ruler Hugo Chávez to 'shut up' at the Ibero-American summit ten days ago. Spaniards have paid about 1.5 million euros for the royal ringtone.

Read more here.