Saturday, July 19, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Hundreds of volunteers try to save the coast from oil

Published 4 November 2023
– By Editorial Staff
Much of the relief work involves trying to save the injured birds.
3 minute read

After running aground three times, the passenger vessel Marco Polo has caused an environmental disaster off the coast of Blekinge. With thousands of oil-damaged birds and coastlines covered in thick oil, volunteers and authorities are now struggling to clean the affected area.

The passenger ship Marco Polo ran aground off the coast of Blekinge on Sunday, October 22. The ship first made a grounding that caused oil leakage over several nautical miles, then it grounded again but got stuck. The crew did not use a working GPS and did not make use of other navigational aids on the ship. A week later, the weather caused the ship to drift and run aground again.

– It’s borderline parodic, I’ve never experienced the same ship running aground three times. I believe it’s a world record, says Ulrik Nielsen from the Coast Guard, to the Bonnier newspaper DN.

This has created a massive oil spill that has spread around Pukavik Bay and Hanö Bay. The thick oil has spread in the water and drifted towards the land where it has contaminated, among other things, beaches and vegetation. Above all, the area’s wildlife has been affected, with over a thousand birds reported to have been oil-damaged.

Must wash oil-damaged birds

The Coast Guard is now struggling together with other organizations and hundreds of volunteers to clean up the oil from nature. A significant part of the work is about trying to save the oil-damaged birds.

There were two swans here yesterday, black with oil. They swam in the bay out here, says Bengt-Arne Nilsson, a rehabilitator at the organization Disaster Aid – Birds and Wildlife in Blekinge, who is out looking for oil-damaged birds, to WWF.

The birds that can be taken care of are washed by hand in large plastic tubs with 41-degree water and dish soap. Before the washing, the birds get to rest and eat.

– It’s very strenuous for the birds to be washed, and they need all the energy to handle it, says Pernille Kragenskjöld, who organizes the washing of the birds at the organization.

Washing a swan requires four people to wash and two to clean the tubs while someone changes and refills with new tempered water. Since the oil is very thick, new water must be added all the time. Washing a swan can take two hours, and during that time, the water may need to be changed up to 20 times. Afterwards, the birds lie in a quiet drying room to rest before being released again. If one sees an oil-damaged animal, one is urged to report it.

Hundreds sign up to help

Through Sölvesborg’s municipality, you can sign up as a volunteer to help with the cleanup work, which over 700 people have done. On the beach, numerous volunteers work to clean the nature from the oil. One of them is Hampus Södergren, who grew up in the area and helps out with his group of friends.

– We’re passionate about this stretch of coast and love this area, Hampus tells Blekinge County Newspaper.

Around 50,000 liters of oil have been collected so far, but much more remains to be cleaned up. The work with the cleanup could, in the worst case, continue for several years.

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Sweden: Over 900 convicted individuals evade prison sentences

Deteriorating safety

Published 15 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
2 minute read

Today, over 900 people are wanted for refusing to serve their prison sentences. Meanwhile, the Swedish government has tightened the rules – since April this year, no one can “wait out” their sentence anymore.

A survey by news agency Siren shows that wanted criminals are found in half of Sweden’s municipalities. In total, it involves just over 900 people who actively avoid showing up when the Swedish Prison and Probation Service calls.

Since April 1 this year, the possibility of escaping punishment by hiding until the statute of limitations expires has completely disappeared. Now the sentences remain until they are enforced, regardless of how much time passes.

– It’s no longer enough to stay hidden for five or ten years, because now the sentences will remain, says Geska Mark, group manager at the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, to the news agency.

Two-thirds report voluntarily

Statistics from the Swedish Prison and Probation Service show that between 65 and 70 percent of those convicted follow the authority’s reporting decisions and appear at the designated facility when the time comes.

– When we look year by year at how many follow our reporting decisions, the proportion is between 65 and 70 percent, states Geska Mark.

Those who are not already in custody receive a letter with instructions about where and when they should report. If they fail to appear without acceptable reason, they risk being wanted, especially if they lack a known address.

Drunk driving most common among evaders

Before the rule change, approximately one hundred people annually managed to avoid prison by staying hidden until the sentence was subject to statute of limitations. Previously, there was a five-year limitation period for sentences under one year and ten years for sentences between one and four years.

Most of those who used this “way out” had been sentenced to short prison terms, often one to two months, where drunk driving was the most common crime.

– Most of the sentences that were previously subject to statute of limitations were short prison sentences, one to two months in prison, and the most common crime was drunk driving. It often involved cases where the convicted person had no address in Sweden, explains Geska Mark.

Swedish climate extremists who blocked ambulance acquitted by Supreme Court

The exaggerated climate crisis

Published 11 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Police remove the road blockade in August 2022.
2 minute read

A nearly three-year legal process concluded this week when all activists from Restore Wetlands (Återställ Våtmarker) were acquitted for blocking the E4 motorway in August 2022, which in addition to causing long traffic jams also delayed an ambulance on an emergency call.

According to Sweden’s Supreme Court (Högsta domstolen), the road blockade was not comparable to the threats against vital societal interests required by law for a conviction of sabotage, and therefore acquitted all participants in the climate alarmist group’s action. The Supreme Court particularly emphasized the importance of freedom of demonstration and freedom of expression in a ruling that will serve as guidance for how civil disobedience should be punished, which in practice opens the door for more motorway blockades.

The legal situation has been unclear regarding what constitutes a serious disruption or obstruction in these cases. It’s good that we now have clear guidance from the Supreme Court on how prosecutions for sabotage should be assessed in the future, says Chief Prosecutor Katarina Johansson Welin in the Supreme Court’s press release.

The group itself describes its action as an “act of love”.

Victory! Today we celebrate that the sabotage charge has been shot down for the last time. In my heart, I have always known that I acted exactly right. To sit peacefully and openly on a motorway and demand that emissions decrease is among the strongest acts of love for our children and for life that you can do, and we did exactly that, says one of those acquitted in the climate group’s press release.

Green Party economist: Good that fewer children are born in Sweden

The exaggerated climate crisis

Published 11 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The Green Party politician Lennart Olsen sees children as an unnecessary burden on the economy and the environment.
2 minute read

That fewer children are born in Sweden is only good for the environment, argues Green Party (Miljöpartiet) politician Lennart Olsen. Children and young people also cost more than older people, who can still work at higher ages if the pension age is raised, he adds.

Olsen writes in a debate article in the Bonnier publication Dagens Nyheter that people should view positively the fact that Swedes are not reproducing themselves.

“What’s needed here is a reversed perspective, where lower birth rates and eventually decreasing population should be welcomed to reduce the exploitation of the earth’s ecosystems“.

The Green Party member believes that the Swedish government’s investigation aimed at proposing measures to raise the very low birth rates in Sweden is “misguided”. He argues that the state can save money from fewer children being born.

“For the state’s and municipal sector’s economy, children and young people are a much greater expense than the elderly. This is because virtually all people between 0 and 20 years old cost a lot of money in the form of preschool, school, higher education, parental insurance, child allowance and more“, Olsen explains his thesis and argues that older people also won’t need as much pension if the retirement age is raised further.

Above all, the Green Party economist sees the possibility that fewer Swedish children will lead to a better climate in the long term.

“The positive effects of such a development can then also take effect and lead to reduced pressure on the earth’s ecosystems“, writes Olsen.

Olsen represents a so-called neo-Malthusian line, an ideological movement that strives for reduced population and strongly influences the climate alarmist movement.

Sweden’s Christian Democrats call for tax relief for families with children

Published 10 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
1 minute read

Swedish families with children should receive tax relief, according to the same model as Hungary. This is proposed by Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch.

The catastrophically low birth rate has recently become a topic of discussion even among Swedish politicians. Childbirth in Sweden is at historically low levels. During 2023, an average of 1.43 children were born per woman – the lowest figure ever recorded. The standing solution advocated among Swedish politicians has been to bring foreigners to Sweden to replace the population.

The leader of the Christian Democrats Ebba Busch proposes on this theme to follow the Hungarian model, where families with children receive significant tax relief that increases for each child. The principle is to make it easier for one or later both parents to support themselves through work instead of benefits.

If current birth rate trends continue in Sweden, each new generation will be approximately 30 percent smaller than the previous one, which means major consequences including for the labor market and welfare system when fewer people of working age must support a growing elderly population.

 

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