Friday, August 29, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Cocaine scandal sparks calls for drug testing in Swedish Riksdag

Published 19 January 2024
– By Editorial Staff
Traces of cocaine use have been found on the premises of a number of Sweden's parliamentary parties.
4 minute read

Recently, journalists from infamous tabloid magazine Aftonbladet, owned by Schibsted and LO, revealed that traces of cocaine had been found in the party rooms of several parliamentary parties and in office toilets in the Swedish Riksdag.

The scandal has become a hot topic of discussion and led to calls for MPs and other staff to be drug tested.

According to Aftonbladet, the tests were conducted in the parties’ parliamentary offices (with the exception of the Moderate Party, where the test was conducted in the party room) in connection with various interviews.

So-called cocaine napkins were used for the tests. The napkins turn blue when they absorb the drug, for example when wiping surfaces. The newspaper then had the napkins tested in a laboratory.

– We found cocaine in all the samples we received, says Anders Helander, a hospital chemist and researcher at the Karolinska Institutet who conducted the tests.

At present, it is virtually impossible to determine how long the traces have been there or who is responsible. Access to the site requires an access card or an invitation from someone with an access card.

An official of one of the parties concerned wonders how drugs can be in the office if parties are not allowed there, and explains that “many people have access to the party premises and that in the worst case it could be politicians who have used the drug.

– It might as well be an elected official, and that is not good.

Four parties on cocaine list

The parties whose samples showed traces of cocaine are the Left Party, the Social Democrats, the Liberals, the Social Democrats and the Sweden Democrats.

In connection with the revelation, representatives of the identified parties have expressed “seriousness” and “surprise”, but point out that the toilets in question could, for example, have been used by visitors.

The Liberals said they would conduct their own tests. The Social Democrats and Sweden Democrats say they will contact the parliament’s administration, and the Left Party intends to contact the parliament’s chief security officer.

– It’s a toilet that many people can use, but you shouldn’t take drugs, that’s the simple message, says Liberal Party leader Johan Pehrson to TT.

Drug lord Tony Montana has long been a symbol of cocaine in popular culture. Photo: facsimile/Universal Studios

Åkesson wants drug tests

SD leader Jimmie Åkesson is in favour of drug testing in parliament.

– I don’t know what the law says about the possibility of doing it, but I think it would be perfectly reasonable to do it in this workplace just like everyone else, says the SD leader.

The leader of the Christian Democrats, Ebba Busch, whose party does not yet appear in the context, is dismayed and says that the parliament is a workplace that should be drug-free.

– It has a very strong symbolic value if drug-free conditions are not maintained in a place that also concerns Sweden’s highest decision-making assembly.

Strong public reaction

The public has reacted strongly to the discovery and, as usual, people on social media have posted many ironic and satirical clips as well as posts of a highly critical nature. On X, the profile @anilsasikter reacts to what he sees as inappropriate behavior by the leader of the Left Party, Nooshi Dadgostar who, instead of responding to the scandal in a serious way, asks the reporter if it “wouldn’t be funny” if they tested the offices of Aftonbladet for cocaine instead.

https://twitter.com/anilsasikter/status/1747625271413346347?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1747625271413346347%7Ctwgr%5E69ae6d0aa173f5667f229020683420f17eb56db1%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnyadagbladet.se%2Finrikes%2Fkokainskandal-i-riksdagen-sd-vill-drogtesta-politiker%2F

Common to all the criticism is what can be read and interpreted as contempt for politicians. Something that our elected representatives would probably like to see less of, not least in times of difficult economic conditions for many households.

Police involved

Due to the serious nature of the information, the parliamentary administration is involved and is working with the police in the matter. According to Niklas Åström, head of security at the Parliamentary Administration, a police report has been filed.

– We have of course reacted – it is of course unacceptable to have what can be assumed to be criminal activity on parliamentary premises, he says in a comment to TT.

– We must continue our efforts to work for a strong security culture in the Riksdag, both for those who work here and for all those who visit the Riksdag temporarily. We work together with the parties and the party offices. There are people responsible for security, and this work involves identifying preventive measures to ensure that such incidents do not happen again, says Niklas Åström.

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Number of prisoners in Sweden has doubled in ten years

Published today 9:36
– By Editorial Staff
1 minute read

The number of inmates in Swedish correctional facilities has nearly doubled in the past ten years, according to statistics from the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå). The number of new admissions has also been the highest in almost 30 years.

At the end of 2024, the total number of people in correctional facilities was 8,206 people, 593 women and 7,613 men. This is referred to as having an ongoing prison sentence execution. This represents an increase of 17 percent compared to the previous year. Compared to 2015, the figure has increased by 91 percent.

The number of new admissions, that is, those who have begun serving a prison sentence, has reached a record high of 11,812 people, which is the highest figure in 28 years.

The increase in the number of inmates in correctional facilities since 2017 is primarily explained by the harsher penalties for serious crimes that have been implemented in recent years, says Charlotta Lindström, statistician at the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, in a press release.

Swedish consumer authority wants to ban all telemarketing

Published yesterday 12:01
– By Editorial Staff
Eight out of ten Swedes actively try to avoid telemarketing calls in various ways, according to a report by the Swedish Consumer Agency.
2 minute read

The Swedish Consumer Agency (Konsumentverket) is proposing a general ban on all telemarketing in Sweden. Six out of ten Swedes no longer answer calls from unknown numbers due to fear of salespeople, causing people to miss important calls from healthcare services and police.

In the report “Telemarketing – an unwanted, inappropriate and deeply problematic business method” submitted to the Swedish government today, the Consumer Agency proposes that all telemarketing should be banned.

As a second alternative, the agency suggests replacing the current Nix registry (Sweden’s do-not-call list) with an opt-in system, where sales calls would only be allowed to consumers who have actively consented to being contacted.

— Telemarketing deprives the consumer of initiative and control over both what should be purchased and when it should happen. The consumer is taken by surprise and unprepared meets an eager salesperson who usually only has a single product to sell, says Cecilia Tisell, consumer ombudsman and director-general of the Swedish Consumer Agency.

The authority’s investigation shows that eight out of ten Swedes avoid calls from telemarketers in various ways. A clear majority do not answer calls from unknown numbers at all, which has serious consequences.

— What are the consequences when we no longer answer the phone out of concern that it’s telemarketers or scammers calling? We see in the survey that people miss important calls from, for example, healthcare services and the police. This is unfortunate for the individual and causes various societal actors much additional work, explains Tisell.

Contributes to debt problems

Complaints to the Swedish Consumer Agency about misleading and aggressive marketing are significantly higher for telemarketing than for other sales methods. Particularly vulnerable are consumers with disabilities and immigrants who do not speak Swedish properly.

A recurring problem is that consumers and companies often disagree about whether any purchase has actually taken place. While consumers claim they only said yes to information or free offers, companies quickly demand payment for subscriptions.

Lotteries/gambling, loans, electricity contracts, insurance, mobile and TV subscriptions, and health supplements are examples of products still often sold by phone.

— Being enticed and pressured to take loans you may not need and cannot afford is unacceptable. Aggressive marketing of credit contributes to the problematic debt situation we see in society today, states Cecilia Tisell.

Police warn of persistently high violence in Sweden

organized crime

Published 27 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The current extensive gang-related violence is now to be considered a permanent feature in Sweden, according to police.
3 minute read

After a series of shootings and explosions in the Stockholm area in recent weeks, police do not want to speak of a temporary wave of violence. Instead, the regional police chief describes the situation as a “constantly high level of violence in Sweden”.

Upplands Väsby, Kallhäll, Viksjö, Bromma and Sätra – the list of places in the Stockholm area that have been hit by shootings and bombings recently continues to grow.

Most recently, during the night leading to Wednesday, an extensive police operation was underway in Viksjö, northwest of Stockholm, after a shooting at a gas station where two people were injured. Shortly before, on August 25, two people were shot dead in a car in a parking lot in nearby Kallhäll. Police cannot yet answer whether there are connections between the various incidents.

Despite the recent concentration of violent crimes in northern Stockholm, police do not want to use the term “wave of violence” to describe the development.

— I would rather say that we have seen a number of completed crimes in a short time and with a clear geographical limitation to northern Stockholm, says Magnus Mowitz, regional police chief for Stockholm north, on Swedish public television SVT’s morning show.

He emphasizes that police have simultaneously succeeded in preventing a series of planned violent crimes, but acknowledges the grim reality:

— The term wave of violence is not something we use, however we can see that there are violent crimes that continuously occur. We have a constantly high level of violence in Sweden, he states.

Thousands of gang criminals

Before the 1990s, gang crime was essentially an unknown phenomenon in Sweden, where the organized crime that did exist was mainly linked to motorcycle gangs and where violent confrontations with firearms and explosives on open streets were virtually non-existent. Sweden was long one of Europe’s safest countries with one of the world’s lowest murder rates.

Over the past three decades, however, the situation has changed dramatically. In pace with unlimited mass immigration from conflict-affected areas in the Third World, criminal networks have been established in suburbs around the country.

From being concentrated in the metropolitan areas’ vulnerable neighborhoods, gang crime has now spread to virtually all Swedish cities of any size, and police estimate that today the number of active individuals in the criminal networks amounts to more than 14,000 individuals – from Malmö in the south to Kiruna in the north.

Turning over multi-billion amounts annually

The criminal networks are not only engaged in spectacular bombings and murders. Drug trafficking still forms the backbone of the operations, but the gangs have significantly diversified their criminal activities. Extortion of business owners, particularly in the suburbs, has become increasingly common, and welfare fraud through fake assistance companies and other schemes drain billions from taxpayers every year.

Human trafficking, arms smuggling, theft gangs and receiving stolen goods are also part of the repertoire, while money laundering occurs through real estate investments, currency exchange offices and cryptocurrencies.

Exactly how much money organized crime turns over each year is impossible to answer, but estimates from police suggest it amounts to approximately €9-14 billion annually.

Swedish young bulls receive feed supplement to reduce methane emissions

The exaggerated climate crisis

Published 26 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Anna Hessle from SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) admits herself that it becomes a bit strange
2 minute read

Swedish young bulls are receiving a new feed supplement to reduce their methane emissions. The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) is currently testing the product in Skara, Sweden.

In Skara, researchers are investigating whether a new feed additive can reduce young bulls’ methane emissions and make the animals more “environmentally friendly”. The feed supplement is manufactured in Sweden and is reportedly significantly cheaper than other alternatives available on the market.

Anna Hessle from SLU acknowledges that the climate discussion has gotten the “wrong focus” but still hopes for good results.

It has become somewhat the case that ruminants have been portrayed as climate villains, even though I personally perhaps think that’s a bit of the wrong focus since it’s really about us having to reduce our fossil fuel emissions, she tells tax-funded Radio Sweden (SR) and continues:

But then the industry can show its good will by trying to reduce emissions even if one might bluntly think that the problems lie elsewhere.

British anger against Arla

The food industry, particularly regarding dairy cows, has long been singled out and accused of being a so-called environmental villain. Recently, the feed supplement Bovaer was developed, with help from financing by billionaire Bill Gates, which is also supposed to reduce cows’ methane emissions by making them fart and burp less.

Danish-Swedish dairy company Arla, for example, began giving it to British cows last year, which led to very harsh criticism from the public and many calls to boycott the company. Bovaer is also used for Swedish cows, but currently to a lesser extent than in the United Kingdom.

When the bulls are slaughtered at the beginning of next year, the project in Skara will be evaluated, but results are already visible when measuring methane emissions in the animals’ exhaled air.

That can be seen in the preliminary data we’ve received, says Hessle.

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