Church of Sweden says yes to gay marriage
Church of Sweden says yes to gay marriage
Published: 22 Oct 09 11:10 CET
Updated: 22 Oct 09 12:29 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/22810/20091022/Dictionary tool Double click on a word to get a translation
The Synod of the Lutheran Church of Sweden has come down in favour of church weddings for homosexuals in a vote held on Thursday morning.
The decision, which is based on a proposal from the church’s governing board, means that the Church of Sweden will conduct wedding ceremonies for both heterosexual and homosexual couples. The proposal was approved by 176 of 249 voting members. The decision comes just three days after the 30th anniversary of the date when homosexuality stopped being classified as a disease in Sweden. “The Synod’s decision takes a stance in favour of an inclusive view of people. Regardless of whether one is religious or not, this affects the entire social climate and the view of people’s equal value,” said Åsa Regnér, head of the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU), in a statement. In June, the church board took the first step towards permitting same-sex marriages by submitting a petition to the Church of Sweden Synod – the church's highest decision-making body. The board proposed the church continue to perform wedding ceremonies following new legislation which came into force on May 1st and grants same-sex couples in Sweden the same legal marriage status as heterosexuals. Current church regulations will likely continue to apply in practice, with some alterations, such as replacing “man and wife” with “lawfully wedded spouses” when a homosexual couple is married. Since 2007, the Church of Sweden, which counts around 74 percent of Swedes as members, has offered gays a religious blessing of their union. The ruling by the Synod, which has 251 delegates - two of which were absent from Thursday's vote, puts Sweden among the first countries in the world to allow gays to marry in a major church. In moving ahead with the decision to perform same-sex marriages, the Church of Sweden ignored concerns expressed earlier this year by the Church of England in a strongly worded letter to Swedish archbishop Anders Wejryd that the move could lead to “an impairment of the relationships between the churches”. Church of England spokesperson Steve Jenkins confirmed that relations between the two churches may be headed for a turbulent phase in the wake of the decision. “Those concerns remain,” he told The Local, referring to the letter from English bishops Christopher Hill and John Hind. He added that he didn’t know of any plans by the English Church to issue a formal statement in response to the Church of Sweden’s decision.
TT/The Local (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)
via thelocal.se
Okay, God, if he exists, turned fair and human. I am happy for all you gay Christians who have felt being abandoned by the one you worship. Congrats!
Chinese should be taught in schools: education minister - The Local
Chinese should be taught in schools: education minister
Published: 17 Oct 09 09:44 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/22714/20091017/Dictionary tool Double click on a word to get a translation
A review of language learning in schools is required to meet the demands of the global market climate says Sweden’s education minister Jan Björklund who is advocating Chinese lessons for college students.
Liberal Party leader Björklund adds that children in Sweden should start learning English at a earlier age, in the first grade rather than the third or fourth grade as it is today. Speaking to Sveriges Radio news, he proposes a language learning reform to be introduced in the next election period and points towards bringing Chinese into the classroom. “Economic relations with this huge country are going to become more and more important,” he said. “I think it would be advantageous if we have a number of young people who learned Chinese.” A lack of Chinese teachers means it could take up to 15 years before the language is as widespread as French, German and Spanish in the education system. The proposal has yet to be approved by parties in the coalition government but Björklund does not foresee any opposition on the matter.
- Sweden set for stricter teacher credentials (24 Sep 09)
- Government reported for English email use (29 Jul 09)
- Swedish becomes official 'main language' (1 Jul 09)
TT/The Local (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)
via thelocal.se
I am no fan of our education minister, Jan Björklund. In fact I would if I had the chance, put my right foot in his hairy little ass... But, the idea of making Chinese available to all college students is actually an interesting idea. I like it.
Pirate Party Sweden's third-largest ahead of EU vote: study - The Local
Pirate Party Sweden's third-largest ahead of EU vote: study
Published: 8 May 09 15:22 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/19332/20090508/Dictionary tool Double click on a word to get a translation
The Pirate Party will likely be the third largest vote-getter among Swedish political parties in upcoming European Parliamentary elections, according to a new forecast.
The study, carried out by researchers at the London School of Economics and Trinity College in Dublin, projects that the Social Democrats and the Moderates will likely increase their respective vote tallies by five percentage points compared with election results from 2004.
- The Local’s guide to voting in the 2009 EU Parliament elections (6 May 09)
- Reinfeldt extracts EU presidency 'truce' from opposition (6 May 09)
- EU deal 'a rap on the knuckles for Sarkozy' (4 May 09)
The increase in support would be enough to give each party an additional seat in the European Parliament.
The analysis, which was carried out in cooperation with the Burston-Marsteller public relations firm, also projects that the Pirate Party will command support from 8.5 percent of Swedish voters, allowing the party to send two MEPs to Brussels.
On the other hand, support has dwindled for the Left Party and Liberal Party (Folkpartiet), as well as for the 2004 election’s surprise underdog, the June List (Junilistan), which will likely garner enough support for no more than one place in the EU parliament.
The forecast was conducted using a statistical model developed by two British researchers and an Irish researcher which is based on existing opinion polls. However the model also takes into account that polls conducted prior to European Parliamentary elections often turn out to be wrong.
“It’s carried out by known and well-regarded researchers. As far as I can tell, this is the most credible forecast carried out ahead of EU elections,” said Ulf Bjereld, a Gothenburg-based political science professor, to the TT news agency.
“Opinion surveys before the EU elections usually overestimate large governing parties and underestimate small, critical parties. That’s why in their forecast for Sweden the authors give less weight to the Moderates and add weight to the Pirate Party.”
According to the forecast, the Social Democrats will likely receive six seats in the newly elected European Parliament, while the Moderate Party will likely end up with four seats.
The Pirate Party can expect two seats, while the June List, Liberals, Greens, Centre Party, Left Party and Christian Democrats will have one MEP each.
A separate Swedish study carried out by the Demoskop polling firm and published on Friday found the Pirate Party has support of 5 percent of the voters, enough for one seat in the European Parliament.
TT/The Local (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)
via thelocal.se
Stupid Swedes... There are more important things at stake than net-piracy...
Ericsson profits slide by a third - The Local
Ericsson profits slide by a third
Published: 30 Apr 09 09:13 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/19164/20090430/Dictionary tool Double click on a word to get a translation
Sweden's Ericsson, the world's leading mobile phone network equipment supplier, reported a 30 percent decline in first-quarter net profits on Thursday.
In the period from January to March, the company posted a net profit of 1.8 billion kronor ($227 million), down from 2.6 billion kronor in the first quarter of 2008.
- Sony Ericsson losses prompt job cuts (17 Apr 09)
- Sony Ericsson issues profit warning (20 Mar 09)
- Sony Ericsson divorce imminent: report (18 Mar 09)
Ericsson's operating profit fell 49 percent to 1.7 billion kronor, compared to 3.5 billion for the same period last year.
"The effects of the global economic recession on the global mobile network market are so far limited," Ericsson's chief executive Carl-Henric Svanberg said in a statement.
"It remains difficult to more precisely predict how operators will act in the current climate," he added.
Despite the fall in profits Ericsson's results were slightly better than analyst expectations of a net profit of around 2.1 billion kronor and a turnover of 50.2 billion.
"These are exceptional times. But if we look at Ericsson's core operations, then profit has actually increased by 40 percent," Svanberg pointed out.
Savings programs introduced by the firm are on track and Svanberg confirmed that no further cuts are currently planned.
"Unless the the nature of the crisis dramatically changes then there should not be any dramatic changes in the market," he forecast.
Ericsson reported a gross operating margin of 36.3 percent in comparison with 38.6 percent for the corresponding period of last year. Operative cashflow was a negative 2.9 billion kronor in comparison to a positive 4.7 billion last year.
Ericsson's stock fell around 5 percent as the Stockholm stock market opened on Thursday morning.TT/AFP/The Local (news@thelocal.se)
via thelocal.se
Italian prosecutor pursues The Pirate Bay - The Local
Italian prosecutor pursues The Pirate Bay
Published: 3 May 09 10:44 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/19212/20090503/Dictionary tool Double click on a word to get a translation
The preople behind the Swedish file sharing website The Pirate Bay could face charges in Italy as a Bergamo prosecutor continues a legal investigation.
Italian prosecutor Giancarlo Mancusis is conducting a legal investigation into the four men behind The Pirate Bay - Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij and Carl Lundström, Swedish business daily Dagens Industri (DI) reports.
- New law sees Swedish web traffic plunge (30 Apr 09)
- Second ISP undermines file sharing law (28 Apr 09)
- Lundström demands Pirate Bay retrial (25 Apr 09)
The investigation is the first of its kind against The Pirate Bay outside of Sweden's borders.
Simona Lavagnini, a lawyer representing the Italian recording industry organisation Fimi, told DI that the recent convictions of The Pirate Bay founders by the Stockholm court has strengthened their resolve.
"We see the chances of a trial in Italy reaching the same result as good," Lavagnini told DI.
The charges under investigation are the same as those in the Stockholm court trial - accessory to copyright infringement. A conviction could lead to imprisonment of between six months and three years as well as significant fines.
The Pirate Bay has employed two IT lawyers based in Sardinia to represent their interests, DI writes.
"The case will almost definitely reach court. But I do not understand how the prosecutor can prove "accessory" to crime. Nor do I understand how this can come under Italian criminal law," one of the lawyers, Giovanni Gallus, said to DI.
The Pirate Bay has never located any servers in Italy nor used the country as a base for its activities. They have 450,000 contacts in Italy, around 2.3 percent of the total visitors to their site.
In August 2008 Fimi sued The Pirate Bay and an Italian judge ruled that the site should be blocked in Italy. The ruling was appealed and the case will be heard by the Italian supreme court in September.
via thelocal.se
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Jazzper IsakssonGreetings!
Welcome to Jazzperous, the personal blog of Mr Jesper Isaksson. I am mostly writing about technology, web 2.0 and social media but also a great deal of things that grind my gear at the moment. Lately is has been a lot about religion, atheism and humanism.
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