Bad News from Norway

Norwegian students among the weakest in science

Klassekampen reports that Norwegian students scored the lowest among all Nordic countries in science, and only ranked #33 among all OECD countries in the subject. Finland scored the highest. This according to the PISA of the OECD. Some of the blame is placed on the frequent educational reforms in Norway, but another article in Klassekampen indicates that the parents' educational background makes a big difference on the results. Which seems to suggest that a major cause of the social democratic movement - to reduce differences based on socio-economic class structures - has failed.

Norway criticized in Bali for CO2 emissions

Norway arrived at the international climate conference in Bali prepared to act as a leading voice for reduced emissions, but found itself on the defensive, as NGOs including World Wildlife Federation and Greenpeace accused the country of being all talk and no action. Norway's per capita greenhouse gas emissions are high by international standards, and the gas terminal at Melkøya in Northern Norway is about to be a major source of pollution that neither the government nor the operator have figured out yet.

"Unacceptable" sanitary conditions in Norwegian codliver oil manufacturing plants

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority has recently disclosed appalling sanitary conditions in several codliver oil manufacturing plants, among which several deliver codliver oil to Peter Möller, one of the largest suppliers to the retail trade. Members of the Norwegian parliament have called for an investigation not just of the manufacturing trade, but also of the food safety authority, which may have known about the problem for some time. It is unknown whether and to what extent this has affected exported cod liver oil.

Norwegian municipalities and fiscal recklessness

At least eight Norwegian municipalities have, through a decision-making process that remains unclear, decided to make money by making leveraged bets in hedge funds. Two salesguys at Terra Securities apparantly convinced these municipalities to borrow money and place the proceeds in funds that specialize in American municipal bonds. The fund is tanking, and the municipalities stand to lose hundreds of millions of Norwegian kroners in the process. The ministry of finance is not inclined to bail them out, but since municipalities receive block grants, it's hard to see how the ministry is just going to let them miss payroll for school teachers, old age homes, etc. Mutual recriminations are flying, and Terra Securities has meanwhile lost its licenses to trade, only to immediately declare bankruptcy; Citigroup, who manages the fund, has decided to close it.

UN Committee against Torture levels criticism at Norway

The United Nations Committee against Torture has leveled criticism against Norway for its practices in detaining asylum seekers at the Trandum Alien Holding Center. Among other things, the committee:

...regretted that the State party had not changed its position with regard to the specific incorporation of the Convention into Norwegian law. Also, the Committee remained concerned at the absence of any external supervision or independent complaints mechanism that would reliably ensure that the rights of persons held at the Trandum Centre were respected at all times. Of concern were also reports on the use of unnecessary force by the police in some instances, and about reports of discriminatory treatment based on ethnicity.

The main issue, it would appear, is that administrative detention is not subject to adequate judiciary review. This is in some contrast to the extraordinary protection afforded to Mullah Krekar, a known terrorist who has been in Norway since 1991.

Police officer threatens synagogue in Trondheim

A Norwegian police cadet recently refused to wear a kippah when visiting the synagogue in Trondheim on the grounds that he was Muslim. The guide said that wearing a kippah was a question of showing respect for a house of worship much in the same way that taking off shoes in a mosque would  be. The police cadet expressed his displeasure by way of blasphemous profanity and threatening gestures, and then left. Apparently, he later told his fellow cadets that he had "finally put the Jews in their place."

The chairman of the synagogue described the incident in a letter of complaint to the police. In the meantime, the cadet has become a fully-fledged police officer in active service. The police authorities have promised to investigate the matter.

Gloating over problems with new opera

Positioned as one of the most ambitious and daring architectural projects in a long while, the Norwegian Opera building on the Oslo fjord is getting a lot of attention ahead of its grand opening in the spring of 2008. Lately, however, the attention has taken a different turn, as the while Italian marble used for its exterior and interior walls is mysteriously turning yellow, and in streaks. Aftenposten reports that many of those who feel slighted in the design and construction of the project somehow feel vindicated by this problem. The architectural firm, Snøhetta, has pointed out that the marble underwent intensive tests, and that nobody yet can explain why things are turning yellow.

Inadequate medical support for Norwegian troops in Afghanistan?

Major General Leif Sverre Rosén, the commandor for the Norwegian army's medical battalion, has resigned under a dark cloud. He recently complained that Norwegian combat troops that are part of ISAF in Afghanistan have inadequate medical support, to the point that he would not be comfortable letting any of his children serve there. So far, three Norwegian troops have been killed in action, and Rosén has asked for - among other things - a dedicated surgical team and helicopter for evacuation. The government has not been receptive to this, and the minister of defense is being criticized.

Norwegian government giving up on poverty - at least for now

The current "red-green" coalition consisting of the radical left, social democrats, and agrarians found a common platform several years ago in the so-called "Soria Moria declaration" that among other things promised that poverty - as it is - would be abolished in Norway during their tenure.

Yesterday, the labor minister Bjarne Håkon Hanssen admitted that this was not going to happen. All he could say was that he "believed" there are fewer poor people in Norway now than before. The solution appears to be a set of programs that either put people to work or put them on long-term disability benefits.

More street violence in Oslo

Aftenposten reports that there has been a sharp escalation in youth gang warfare in Oslo the last few days, focusing mostly on three more or less formal gangs with territories in Søndre Nordstrand, including Holmlia, Mortensrud and Bjørndal; Groruddalen, including Furset and Trosterud; and central Oslo, including Grønland, Tøyen, and Grünerløkka. In other words, vast sections of Oslo east of Akerselven.

The police take this seriously but concede they have no idea what the context or motivation for this escalation might be. The leader in Youth Against Violence, Farid Bouras, says that the reported violence probably understates the problem, as gang members are unlikely to report incidents. There is also concern that the youth gangs are extensions of organized crime in Oslo.