Friday, February 7, 2025
The Nordic Times

Polaris of Enlightenment

Friday, February 7, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

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https://nordictimes.com/world/japans-ruling-party-loses-majority/

World

Japan’s ruling party loses majority

Published 28 October 2024
– By Editorial Staff
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
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The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed Japan almost continuously since 1955, faced a significant setback in this weekend’s election, losing its majority in the lower house of parliament.

The poor result could force the resignation of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who took office just four weeks ago.

For 70 years, the LDP has been the major force in Japanese politics, most recently ruling the country with coalition partner Komeito and holding its own majority in parliament. This has now been lost as it goes from 259 seats to just 191 (out of 465) and the LDP has its worst election since 2009.

There are several reasons why voters are abandoning the party in power, but analysts say it is partly due to the economic situation, with high inflation and the rising cost of living making it difficult for many Japanese people to cope with everyday life.

In addition, the party has been rocked by several major scandals – including the revelation that party officials embezzled large sums of money raised by sympathizers and supporters.

With 233 seats needed for a majority in parliament, protracted negotiations are expected – as even the main opposition party (CDPJ) failed to win more than 148 seats. Under the constitution, the parties now have one month to agree on who will form the new government.

“Unlikely to survive”

– Whether or not Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru resigns as LDP leader today, it seems unlikely that he will survive to lead a new government, writes Tobias Harris, founder of the political risk advisory firm Japan Foresight.

Ishiba was elected party chairman and prime minister as recently as October 1, when he called for new elections. Many critics and opponents now believe he must resign as a consequence of the election loss – something he has so far refused to do.

Instead, he wants a coalition government consisting of the LDP and several other parties, but analysts say it is not certain that he will find support for such a solution.

It is worth noting that the election results also led the currency (yen) to fall to its lowest level in three months in the country, which is considered the world’s fourth-largest economy.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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https://nordictimes.com/world/google-shuts-down-its-dei-program/

World

Google shuts down its DEI program

Published yesterday 17:46
– By Editorial Staff
Google had a supportive stance towards the violent black power movement BLM.
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Google has decided to end its Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) programs in the recruitment process. The decision means that the company will no longer have specific targets for hiring people from “underrepresented groups”. This is according to an internal memo to employees, written by Google’s HR manager Fiona Cicconi, which The Verge has seen.

In the memo, Cicconi explains that the decision is a consequence of Google’s status as a federal contractor and is influenced by “court decisions and presidential orders in the US” relating to the subject. She also mentions that the company is now “carefully evaluating” other DEI initiatives that may involve “risk” or “aren’t as impactful as we’d hoped”.

However, a Google spokesperson, Chloe Cooper, emphasizes to The Verge that the company remains “committed to creating a workplace where all our employees can succeed and have equal opportunities”. She adds that over the past year, the company has been reviewing its programs to ensure they are achieving these goals.

The decision to end DEI targets comes after Google in 2020, during the height of the violent Black Lives Matter movement, publicly pledged to increase the percentage of leaders from “underrepresented groups” by 30 percent – a goal that was achieved by 2022. But now, as dismantling DEI programs has become a priority for the Trump administration, Google is choosing to change course.

Google is not alone in this change. The company is following in the footsteps of other tech giants such as Meta and Amazon, which have also cut back on their “diversity initiatives”. According to the Wall Street Journal, Google has also removed a previous line of text in its annual reports, in which the company assured that diversity was “part of everything” it does. This line has been there since 2021.

In the internal memo, Cicconi stresses that the decision is part of an annual policy review and that the company continues to strive for an inclusive workplace, although some programs are now being phased out.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/world/russia-launches-eurovision-rival/

World

Russia launches Eurovision rival

Published yesterday 16:11
– By Editorial Staff
All BRICS countries are said to have agreed to participate - and several Latin American nations are also said to be interested.
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The Intervision Song Contest will be the BRICS’ alternative to Eurovision. The first contest will be held in Moscow already in September.

A similar song contest was held in 1965 and 1977 as an Eastern Bloc alternative to Eurovision. Participants included the Soviet Union, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary.

The initiative is a Kremlin order, signed by President Vladimir Putin on Monday, and the idea to revive the contest came from the Russian culture minister, Olga Lyubimova, in September 2023.

Eurovision, which started in the 1950s, excluded Russia from the 2022 contest in the context of the start of the war. Meanwhile, the organizers, including the Swedish state channel SVT, have been criticized for double standards as Israel was allowed to participate in 2024, despite accusations of war crimes.

Latin American interest

The Intervision Song Contest will include all BRICS countries, members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and other interested nations, Russian state broadcaster RT reports. According to Russian authorities, the contest will be free of political restrictions.

Mikhail Shvydkoy, the President’s Special Representative for International Cultural Cooperation, confirmed that all BRICS countries have agreed to participate. Several Latin American nations are also said to be interested.

The competition is scheduled to take place in Moscow in September.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/world/trump-bans-trans-women-from-competing-in-womens-sports/

World

Trump bans trans women from competing in women’s sports

Published yesterday 13:54
– By Editorial Staff
Trump signed the decree in front of girl athletes on National Girls' and Women's Sports Day.
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Donald Trump has signed an executive order banning trans women from competing in women’s and girls’ sports in the United States.

Transgender women overshadowing their biologically female counterparts in women’s sports has been a hot topic of debate in the US in recent years. For example, Lia Thomas, formerly Will, provoked strong reactions when the swimmer broke new women’s records at the University of Pennsylvania.

This led Riley Gaines, who lost to Thomas, to raise the debate about biological males competing against biological females – and that it’s simply not a fair set-up.

However, the debate has been socially charged, and those who oppose trans women competing in women’s and girls’ competitions are often accused of being “transphobic”, when in fact it is about creating justice for women and girls. Despite years of debate, trans women have continued to win gold medals in various sports.

“The war on women’s sport is over”

On Wednesday, National Girls’ and Women’s Sports Day, President Donald Trump signed a new executive order banning trans women from competing in women’s and girls’ sports in the United States.

– With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over, says the president, who signed the decree in front of excited girl athletes of all ages, CNN reports.

In practice, it means withdrawing the Biden administration’s guidance on Title IX, the civil rights law. Under those guidelines, schools were required to allow trans students access to school sports teams and sex-segregated facilities that align with their self-selected gender identities. The new decree will instead bar students born with biological male gender from participating in girls’ and women’s sports or using women’s restrooms.

Fraud

Furthermore, it will work with sports governing bodies, including the International Olympic Committee, to ensure that the guidance is followed in non-training environments. It will also affect US visa policy.

– If you are coming into the country and you are claiming that you are a woman but you are a male here to compete against women, we’re going to be reviewing that for fraud, said one of the officials.

Trump has also signed executive orders banning transgender people from serving in the military, declaring that there are only two genders, and banning the use of sex reassignment therapy, such as hormone blockers, for minors.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/world/zelenskys-call-give-us-nuclear-weapons/

World

Zelensky’s call: “Give us nuclear weapons”

The war in Ukraine

Published yesterday 11:09
– By Editorial Staff
Zelensky has repeatedly expressed regret that Ukraine has no nuclear arsenal.
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Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky wants the West to provide Kiev with nuclear weapons and even more missiles “to stop Russia” if Ukraine is not granted membership of the NATO military pact very quickly.

British journalist Piers Morgan published an excerpt from an interview with Zelensky in which he asked the Ukrainian leader why Kiev refuses to provide any alternative to NATO membership for possible peace negotiations, when he knows that such a proposal is considered completely unacceptable to Moscow.

The Ukrainian president replied that if Kiev is prevented from joining the US-led bloc in the near future, Ukraine will have the right to ask its allies how to defend itself against Russia instead.

– Which support package? Which missiles? Will we be given nuclear weapons? Then let them give us nuclear weapons!

– Give us back nuclear arms. Give us missile systems. Partners, help us finance the one-million army, move your contingent on the parts of our state where we want the stability of the situation, he continued.

“A maniac”

In recent months, Mr. Zelensky has repeatedly expressed his regret that Ukraine had previously handed over Soviet nuclear weapons stationed on its soil in exchange for security guarantees. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine inherited some 1 700 nuclear warheads, which remained under Moscow’s operational control.

Russia has always maintained that Ukraine never had any nuclear weapons to begin with, as the Soviet assets legally belonged to Moscow.

– Zelensky’s latest statements that he wants to possess a nuclear capability expose him as a maniac, who considers the planet as an object for his sick delusions. They also prove that for him nuclear power stations are not a source of peaceful energy, but a dirty weapon that the Kiev regime needs for blackmail, comments Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com