Denmark Elections: When the First Place does not Mean Victory

After the recent elections in Denmark, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the Liberal leader, is set to regain prime-minister's seat from Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Denmark’s first female PM.

Although the Social Democrats increased their share of the vote and won more seats, the "Blue" opposition bloc led by Venstre's Rasmussen (Venstre, Danish People's Party, Liberal Alliance, Conservative People's Party, and Christian Democrats) gained a parliamentary majority over the "Red" Social Democrat-led bloc (Social Democrats, Red–Green Alliance, The Alternative, Social Liberals, and Socialist People's Party). The surge of ultra-right Danish People's Party to the second place is especially alarming. It could be a sign that the integration of immigrants into Danish social life is stalling, cross-cultural gap in mutual understanding is growing, and electors try to show their discontent with the existing troubles. Poor cross-cultural skills of both locals and immigrants, is to blame for the growing immigrant crisis in the West.

The election, called by Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt just three weeks ago, came at a time when Danes increasingly feared that their cherished system of generous welfare benefits was being abused by migrants from southern Europe and a recent surge of more than 14,000 asylum seekers, mostly Muslims. 

The country remains shaken by a Feb. 14 shooting rampage in Copenhagen by the 22-year-old son of Palestinian immigrants at a free-speech event and outside a synagogue that left two people dead and five police officers wounded.

Both of the leading parties had pledged a tougher stance on immigration, with the prime minister campaigning on a vow to require refugees to work — an unusual position for her party.

FT writes that Nordic social democracy is in crisis. But I disagree, since social democracy is not just about immigrants. I would rather say that recent results of the elections prove the decline of multiculturalism, but not of the overall social democratic model.

The threshold to enter parliament in Denmark is low (only 2%) compared with most other countries. Germany, for example, has a 5% threshold, Sweden 4% and Turkey 10%.

Hence, Denmark’s voting system makes it near impossible for a single party to win an outright majority. No party has won one since 1903. This means that governments in Denmark tend to be coalitions, often even minority alliances with parliamentary support from other parties. 

Globalizing World Conflicts

Nearly 60 million people have been driven from their homes by war and persecution, an unprecedented global exodus that has burdened fragile countries with waves of newcomers and littered deserts and seas with the bodies of those who died trying to reach safety.

Nearly 14 million people were newly displaced in 2014, according to the annual report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The leader in Europe is Ukraine (1,1 m).

Meanwhile, Hungary announced plans on Wednesday to build a four-meter-high fence along its border with Serbia to stem the flow of illegal migrants, a move that triggered a swift rebuke from the United Nations Refugee Agency. Most illegal migrants arrive to Hungary from Serbia. In turn, Serbia receives majority of illegal immigrants from Bulgaria, which is an EU member, or from Macedonia, which is not.

Bulgaria has built its own fence along a section of its 240-kilometer border with Turkey with the same aim of keeping out migrants and it has plans to extend it.

The International Organization for Migration said on Wednesday that it had found the remains of more than two dozen people, mostly West Africans, who apparently got lost in a sandstorm in Niger and then died of heat and thirst near the border with Algeria.

“For an age of unprecedented mass displacement, we need an unprecedented humanitarian response and a renewed global commitment to tolerance and protection for people fleeing conflict and persecution,” António Guterres, the high commissioner for refugees, said in a statement accompanying the annual report.

Amnesty International, in a report issued this week, accused governments and smugglers alike of pursuing “selfish political interests instead of showing basic human compassion.”

Sources - Reuters, New York Times, IOM and Amnesty International

Life in Al Qaeda town

People look at a man, who residents said was killed by al Qaeda militants, hanging on a bridge in Yemen's southeastern city of Mukalla June 17, 2015. Al Qaeda militants in Yemen killed two alleged Saudi spies on Wednesday, residents said, accusing them of planting tracking devices which enabled the assassination of the group's leader in a suspected U.S. drone strike last week.

REUTERS/Stringer

A Travesty of Justice in Egypt

Egyptian ex-president Mohammed Morsi has been sentenced to death. Will such a solution help Egypt or Middle East find domestic peace? Will it improve image of Muslims and Egypt in the world? I am afraid, not. Justice is valued, but at which cost and for whom? How many Egyptians support the decision?

Muslims who support the death penalty believe that its use provides an effective deterrent against crime and as such, helps to promote justice. Islamic law permits the use of the death penalty as a punishment against intentional murder and Fasaad fi al-ardh, which translates to "spreading mischief throughout the land." This type of crime is interpreted in a variety of ways, but can include rape, adultery, treason, apostasy, piracy and homosexual behavior.

These "cultural" values contradict to some universal global values and hinder the mutual understanding between the Muslims and other cultural groups of the world.

According to Amnesty International, globally in 2014, at least 2,466 people were sentenced to death worldwide - up 28% on 2013. Egypt and Nigeria are to blame for this rise.

License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

Legend

Abolished for all crimes - 103 (53%)

Abolished for all crimes except under exceptional/special circumstances (such as crimes committed in wartime) - 6 (3%)

Not used in practice (under a moratorium or have not used capital punishment in at least 10 years) - 50 (26%) 

Retainers of the death penalty in law and practice - 36 (18%)

Celebrating the 1st International Day of Family Remittances

Uncatchable al-Bashir

South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress, said that the International Criminal Court was not “useful” to prosecute crimes against humanity because membership is voluntary. Really? It is hilarious.

President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan flew out of South Africa on Monday morning aboard his presidential jet. Mr. Bashir’s plane left a military airport near Pretoria, the capital, unhindered by the authorities who had already been ordered over the weekend by South Africa’s High Court to prevent him from departing.

Legal experts counter that the South African government has violated the 1998 Rome Treaty it signed to join the court. In addition, they say that the government has violated its laws because South Africa has incorporated the treaty’s principles into its own Constitution.

“The African Union has always been a presidential brotherhood; the members always look out after each other,” said John Akokpari, an expert on the African Union at the University of Cape Town. “Their rhetoric about respecting human rights and the rule of law has always been rhetorical diarrhea.”

Yemen: Defragmentation again?

Currently, Yemen is divided into three parts, controlled by:

- government forces of the president Hadi, supported by militarily strong Saudi Arabia and other Arab Nations

- rebels who allegedly received funding from Iran till 2013

- Al Qaeda.

The Saudi-led coalition accused Iran of militarily and financially supporting the rebel group of Houthis. But according to the AFP, a confidential report presented to the Security Council's Iran sanctions committee in April 2015 claimed that Iran has been shipping weapons to the Houthi rebels since between 2009 and 2013.[226] The panel further stated that there have been no reports of any weapon shipments since the 2013 incident. To be frank, I trust Saudi government not more than to Iranians.

US supports the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen by "providing intelligence sharing, targeting assistance, advisory and logistical support to the military intervention," according to the state department.[230] According to Anthony Cordesman, the US government does not want "the strategic Bab-el-Mandeb strait" to be threatened. However, the US is urging Saudi Arabia-led coalition to find a political solution to the conflict.

No surprise, the world is divided on Yemen conflict as well. The Arab League and the US voiced support for the intervention,[340][341][342] but the European Union and the United Nations criticised it.

In the meantime, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula exploited the chaos in Yemen to capture the south-eastern port city of Al Mukalla in early April. I wonder what is life like there now?
For me, globalization is barely seen or correctly understood in Yemen. Tribalism, not global values, is a king. Unethical practices are pervasive and bogging the country down the path of self-destruction. But the lack of global and regional leadership to stop the ongoing civil war is another dimension of the conflict.

How many people in the West know about Yemen, their culture and life? Why no infographics available on territorial changes in civil war?

Good news for global values from 2015 elections in Turkey

Turkey's politics has been toxic recently. The recent elections have finally brought a fresh air.

The parliamentary majority of Mr. Erdogan's party had been degraded and a new liberal party, HDP, entered the parliament upon obtaining 80 among 550 seats.

As the fourth largest party in Turkey, HDP supports secularism, democratic socialism, anti-capitalism, environmentalism, direct democracy, minority rights, LGBT rights, feminism, and anti-nationalism. It aims to represent various ethnic minorities within Turkey, of which the Kurds are the most prominent group.

It is paradoxical in some way since the party's electoral base lies in the conservative East of the country.

Google is entering the wind energy game in Africa

Google further diversifies its corporate portfolio and solidifies its image as a socially responsible company. This time, Google is going to invest in renewables in Africa.

According to CNBC, Google wants to back Kenya’s Lake Turkana Wind Power Project, a massive undertaking that will require more than $700 million. Lake Turkana is the world's largest alkaline lake. If completed, it will be the largest wind farm in Africa. The project will span 40,000 acres, raise Kenya’s energy capacity by 20 percent, and be an enormous boon to a country where less than 25% of the population has access to power.

Though most of Google’s green energy investments have been within the United States, it has invested in Africa before — most notably in 2013 when it poured $12 million into a South African solar project, one of the largest on the continent.

Kwame Parker, Standard Bank's head of power and infrastructure for East Africa, told CNBC that Google’s global profile would send ripples beyond Turkana itself. Google's investment would be “a significant vote of confidence for investors considering African power market entry," he said.

But that’s not the only impact this investment could have. It could also help secure a $250 million investment based on President Barack Obama’s Power Africa initiative. To receive the government investment, the Turkana project would require "meaningful involvement of the U.S. private sector," which Google’s investment would likely satisfy.

Google also has significant interest in wind power on the technology side. Its innovative arm, Google X, is currently developing the potential next phase in wind energy production. Google’s Makani wind turbines fly in the air like kites to utilize the strong winds available at higher altitudes.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-in-talks-to-invest-in-largest-wind-power-project-in-africa-2015-6#ixzz3csnDIdQv

Are there Euroatlantic values in Germany, France and Italy?

Serious issues with Germany, France and Italy over defense of their NATO allies.
Majority of respondents in the above mentioned countries is not ready to support their allies militarily in case of Russian aggression. Why so? Does ethnocentrism dominate in their educational and mass media practices?

Germans oppose Ukraine Joining NATO

German public is still scared of Russia and does not trust Americans. In Spain it's twice less opposition for Ukraine's integration into NATO, than in Germany. It is a big difference, being a challenge for Ukraine's diplomacy. Euroatlantic values seem to be less important than national interests of some particular states. Who promotes those values recently? Who knows what are Euroatlantic values? I am afraid, no one.