Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Hundreds of Freemasons working in Swedish courts creates conflict of interest

Published 21 June 2024
– By Editorial Staff
Left: A Mason at a typical checkered floor in a lodge. Right: Södertälje District Court.
2 minute read

About 400 members of the Freemasons have strong links to the Swedish judiciary – there are cases where judges, lawyers and prosecutors are all members of the same Masonic lodge. This is according to an investigation by Swedish TV4 channel (TV4).

In connection with legal proceedings, all cases of potential conflict of interest must be reported – but a report in Kalla Fakta (Cold Facts) shows that this does not apply in practice when it comes to Freemasons in the judiciary – despite the fact that members of the order often have very close ties to each other.

One example highlighted concerns a 27-year-old man who was convicted of assault eight years ago, where the judge, the prosecutor, the lawyer and the plaintiff’s lawyer were not only active Freemasons – they were also members of the same Masonic lodge.

The man admits he was guilty of assault, but is highly critical of the fact that this kind of potential corruption is allowed in the justice system.

– It is absolutely insane that nobody knew about it. You don’t know what goes on behind those doors.

According to the report, some 400 Freemasons are active “in various parts of the judiciary”. Using a sampling method, Kalla Fakta found 600 cases in which at least two of the parties in the legal process were members of the secret order.

Mats Sjösten, the chief judge at Varberg District Court, says he “never considered” whether his and prosecutor Anders Johansson’s membership in the same local Masonic lodge would be problematic in any way, and that he does not see anything strange about it.

– If you want, you can see disqualification in all situations. As far as Anders Johansson is concerned, there is no connection or conflict of interest, he claims.

In another high-profile case from 2018, Ghost singer Tobias Forge was not required to disclose his band’s finances when he was sued by his former bandmates. They were also ordered to pay Forge’s legal costs, which amounted to more than (SEK 1.3 million).

It was later discovered that Forge, like the judge, was a member of the Masonic Order in Linköping – something that made the band members’ lawyer furious and demand that the trial be reopened.

– This is for the Court of Appeal to decide. I cannot comment on it in my role as the one who was disqualified. It must be left to someone else to decide, Judge Henrik Ibold commented at the time, adding that he “does not believe that the Court of Appeal will consider that there is a conflict of interest”.

The request for a retrial was rejected by the Court of Appeal, which said there was no conflict of interest.

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Swedish inquiry recommends total ban on international adoptions

Published today 11:12
– By Editorial Staff
Government investigator Anna Singer notes that there have been extensive irregularities in international adoptions to Sweden
2 minute read

Swedish government investigator Anna Singer is proposing a total ban on international adoptions to Sweden, following a government inquiry that found widespread abuses in the system.

The inquiry was launched after Bonnier-owned newspaper Dagens Nyheter revealed that children had been stolen from their biological parents to be adopted in Sweden. The investigation showed that both illegal adoptions and unethical practices had been going on for several decades and that Swedish actors in some cases were aware of the problems when they occurred.

– There have been irregularities in international adoptions to Sweden, Singer said at a press conference this week.

She emphasizes that the practice has not been able to guarantee the best interests of the child, and that the risks today are unacceptable given society’s increased focus on children’s rights.

– International adoption is not a sustainable solution for protecting children as a group, she added.

“Naturally a failure”

The inquiry’s proposals include an official apology from the state to those affected, a national resource center for adoptees, and a travel allowance of SEK 15,000 (€1,400). It also proposes a gradual phasing out of adoption services and increased support for adoptees and their families.

Social Services Minister Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M) describes the situation as a failure and says that the government now has “even greater clarity that children and parents have suffered and been harmed for decades within the framework of international adoption”.

– These revelations, both past and present, are naturally a failure.

– If adoptions are to continue in Sweden, it must also be possible to guarantee security and legal certainty in this area, she continued.

The government will now send the report for consultation to gather views from relevant authorities and organizations.

Adoptionscentrum opposes total ban

At the same time, Adoptionscentrum, Sweden’s largest adoption agency, has criticized the proposal for a total ban.

– If the alternative for a child is to grow up in an institution, I think that growing up in a safe family in another country could be in the best interests of the individual child, said Vice Chair Margret Josefsson in an interview with Swedish public television SVT’s Morgonstudion.

The investigation emphasizes that irregularities have been going on for a long time and that major changes are urgently needed to protect children’s rights.

Swedish Social Democrats: Population must be mixed

Population replacement in the West

Published yesterday 14:33
– By Editorial Staff
Social Democrats leader Magdalena Andersson and party secretary Tobias Baudin.
4 minute read

The Swedish Social Democrats have concluded that integration efforts over the past few decades have not yielded the desired results.

The party now wants to focus on mixing the population and ensuring that newly arrived migrants are spread out and placed in “socioeconomically stronger” areas.

At the Social Democratic Party congress this weekend, the party presented a new migration and integration policy program for the upcoming elections, with a strong focus on social engineering and mixing people from different backgrounds in the same residential areas.

– It is important from a socioeconomic perspective to achieve diversity, claims Social Democratic Party executive Jonas Attenius in the tabloid Aftonbladet.

Decades of unrestricted mass immigration have led to the creation of ethnic enclaves and areas in many parts of Sweden that are completely dominated by people with non-European backgrounds.

The Social Democrats themselves have been driving forces behind this development and have ignored alarms and warnings from critics – but now claim that the situation is unsustainable and that the solution is instead large-scale, nationwide mixing.

– We are serious about breaking segregation and using housing policy as a driving force in this work, declares Lawen Redar, who has been working on developing the party’s new integration policy.

Preventing moves to “vulnerable areas”

To achieve this, asylum seekers will no longer have the right to arrange their own housing, and municipalities will be prohibited from placing migrants in so-called “vulnerable areas” – residential areas where many non-European immigrants already live.

Furthermore, moving to these immigrant-dense areas will also be restricted by making those who move there risk losing their social benefits. Instead, migrants will be placed in “socioeconomically stronger” areas around the country.

– We have legislation that requires us to place people, and it is not God-given that it always has to be in a suburb. But this presupposes strict migration, that it is at a very low level, says Jonas Attenius, chairman of the municipal council in Gothenburg and newly elected member of the Social Democrats’ executive committee.

He confirms that mixing is a stated and very important goal for the Social Democrats, but believes that it may take time.

– Yes, we need to mix the population in the long term. I usually say ‘in a generation’. This is a long-term goal.

“No problems whatsoever”

– It is important to use our housing construction to achieve this mix. The way we live is also segregated. In one place there are rental properties, in another there are villas and condominiums. We want to work on building a mix, Attenius continues.

He believes that voters will welcome the explicit mixing policy and takes the opportunity in the gossip magazine to apologize to the migrants who have been placed in Swedish suburbs in recent decades.

– I say sorry to them. Sorry for what we’ve done. Now it’s time for the full force of society to step in. If a refugee family moves into an apartment building where people who’ve lived in Sweden their whole lives also live, and five blocks away another newly arrived family moves in — I don’t think that will be any problem whatsoever, he assesses.

No “paradigm shift” yet

Mass immigration to Sweden has been extremely extensive in recent decades – according to statistics from the Swedish Migration Agency, nearly 2.5 million people have immigrated in the 2000s alone – leading to a long list of difficult problems.

Regardless of whether the Social Democrats or the Moderates have governed Sweden, the policy of population replacement has continued, and anyone who opposed it could long expect to be subjected to smear campaigns or character assassination in the establishment media.

However, the success of the Sweden Democrats has led to a rhetorical shift among the other parties, and today both the Social Democrats and the Moderates claim that they want to see a limited migration policy. In practice, however, not much has happened, and despite the government’s promises of a “paradigm shift in migration policy”, 94,000 residence permits were granted last year.

More young Swedes getting confirmed: “Want to get closer to God”

Published yesterday 8:33
– By Editorial Staff
Young people are confirmed in St. Mary's Church, Ystad.
3 minute read

After decades of decline, the number of confirmands in Sweden is now increasing – and many young people say they feel a need to get closer to God.

It’s no longer uncool to be interested in the Christian faith or to call yourself a Christian, says parish educator Sara Björnö.

After falling from 80 percent in the 1970s to below 20 percent during the coronavirus crisis, the number of confirmation candidates has now recovered to pre-2020 levels. This has led the media to speculate that it is a lasting “Jesus trend”. However, Associate Professor Frida Mannerfelt in practical theology believes it is too early to draw any firm conclusions:

– We should be cautious about calling the increase a trend reversal, she says.

Confirmation has changed from a self-evident tradition to an active choice for a minority, driven by secularization and the fact that Christianity no longer has a special status in Sweden, as well as the immigration of non-Christian groups.

At the same time, many young people say that it is precisely their encounter with other religions that has made them curious about religion and led to a desire to find a religious affiliation for themselves.

“Making an active choice”

Today’s confirmands are no longer attracted by gifts, but by a desire to explore life issues such as death, identity, and community. Statistics also show that more people are being baptized during the confirmation period – from 1 percent in 2007 to 10 percent in 2022 – which indicates a growing interest in Christianity.

Being able to discuss questions such as ‘How should I deal with the fact that I’m not perfect?’ is necessary in a society where pressure is put on young people from various quarters – such as social media and the current grading system – to be perfect, says Mannerfelt.

Those who choose to be confirmed today are, to a greater extent, making an active choice to do so, continues the lecturer.

Sara Björnö is a parish educator in the Almby parish in Örebro, and she clearly sees that more young people today are curious about Jesus and Christianity.

– Quite a few say they are interested in God and Jesus. Several have written that they want to get closer to God and that they have found faith after confirmation.

Attracted by soccer camps and ski trips

She has noticed a noticeable change in how young Swedes view religion.

It’s no longer uncool to be interested in the Christian faith or to call yourself a Christian, she says.

At the same time, the Church of Sweden has also been criticized both externally and internally for being “vague” and unserious in its recruitment efforts – for example, by attracting confirmation candidates with secular activities such as soccer camps, ski trips, and visits to amusement parks.

There is a discussion within the Church of Sweden about whether the pursuit of relevance risks appearing frivolous, but the prevailing view is that there are several ways to achieve this, concludes Frida Mannerfelt.

The Swedish Church has also been criticized by conservatives for being perceived in many places today as highly politicized, with a strong focus on modern left-wing activism rather than on faith in God and traditional Christian values.

Tests reveal imported honey in Sweden is fake

Published 1 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
According to EU rules, real honey should only contain honey - and nothing else.
1 minute read

All honey imported into Sweden is fake, new tests show. Instead, the “honey” contains mostly sugar and syrup.

The industry organization Biodlingsföretagarna has tested 40 honey products available on the Swedish market. A new form of DNA technology was used to test the honey.

36 of the products, all imported, did not contain real honey, the tests showed. Instead, the products contained sugar and syrup. Only four of the products tested contained real honey and all were produced in Sweden.

We consider this to be extremely serious. We knew there were fake products on the market, but we are shocked by the scale of it, says Yngve Kihlberg, chairman of the Swedish Beekeepers’ Association, to the tax-funded SVT.

“Must await EU decision”

In the EU, a product called “honey” must contain only honey. It is okay to mix honey from different origins, but not to add other ingredients. According to the trade association, most of the imported “honey” comes from China, where they have found ways to cheat to allow products to pass controls even though they contain very little honey.

Swedish grocery retailers will not replace the honey products identified as fake at this stage, as they have passed the current controls.

We would like to replace the current testing methods if they do not work. But we have to wait for the EU’s decision on the accreditation of the DNA tests, says Martin Andersson, who is responsible for industrial policy at the Swedish grocery trade, to SVT.

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