Saturday, February 15, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

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Swedish nine-year-old dies of TBE despite being “fully vaccinated”

Published 3 July 2024
– By Editorial Staff
The nine-year-old's medical condition was dismissed by the medical staff.

A nine-year-old child has died of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), despite being “fully vaccinated” and therefore supposedly “fully protected” against the disease. Meanwhile, the hospital’s handling of the case has been described as “disastrous”, with important information about the child’s condition not recorded or shared due to stressed doctors and staff shortages.

In October 2023, the nine-year-old, who had previously been completely healthy, suddenly fell ill with severe headaches and sought treatment at the pediatric emergency department in Uppsala. The child had been bitten by many ticks during the summer, but because he had been vaccinated against TBE, he was considered to have “adequate protection”, so the doctors concluded that it was a migraine, and the child was sent home.

The next day, the child and caregiver returned because the headaches had worsened, and X-rays and neurological tests were done – but again, no explanation for the headaches was found – and the child was sent home again.

A day later, the 9-year-old suddenly began having severe seizures and was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit, where he later died. In spite of the vaccination, which was said to be fully protective, it was concluded that the child died of meningitis.

Poor handling by the hospital

The Academic Hospital makes a Lex Maria notification, and it appears that the medical staff was stressed, understaffed, and that documentation, reports, and journal entries are incomplete.

“Information about the patient’s respiratory arrest was not included in the information transfer and is not available. Staff feel that the transfer of information can be a bit like ‘whispering'”, notes Ivo, the Swedish Health and Social Care Inspectorate, who rates the seriousness of the incident as ‘catastrophic’.

Johan Hedlund, head of the infection control unit in the Uppsala region, has never heard of a case of “fully vaccinated” Swedish children dying from diseases caused by TBE.

– If you look at the whole of Sweden, we have one or two deaths a year, so deaths are very unusual, he says.

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TV4’s Örebro mass shooting coverage sparks backlash from experts

Disinformation in the media

Published yesterday 12:46
– By Editorial Staff

Following TV4’s reporting on the mass shooting in Örebro, where the channel claimed, on unclear grounds, that the perpetrator had uttered the phrase “you should get out of Europe”, ten experienced sound engineers are now questioning the channel’s methods in an open letter.

The information provided by the state-owned Telia TV4, which was allegedly based on an “expert analysis” of an audio recording, was widely circulated and used to imply a racist motive behind the Örebro attack.

Critical voices questioned TV4’s reporting early on, pointing out that there was a lack of transparency about how the claim was arrived at. Now, ten experienced sound engineers have also published an open letter in the magazine Kvartal, criticizing the channel’s conclusions and general journalistic credibility.

The ten sound engineers, with extensive experience in sound analysis, recording and editing, state that it is impossible to determine with certainty what is being said in the audio clip in question and criticize the channel for giving the impression that there is a clear conclusion when this is not the case.

No one in our profession would be able to establish that”, they clarify.

“Not up to scratch”

They emphasize that TV4’s handling of the material cannot be considered anything other than a serious case of false journalism.

It is dishonest to claim that this is the case. Instead, many of us in our forum have been disturbed by the fact that our professional knowledge and professional honor seem to be used as an alibi for frivolous and irresponsible click journalism”.

They are calling for the channel to report exactly how it went about the analysis that TV4 News says it did.

We do not think that TV4’s defense is up to scratch and we do not believe that the publication can withstand further scrutiny. If TV4 wants to be transparent, they should make available exactly in what format they have taken part of the original audio and make a file without further compression or processing available for independent review”, it concludes.

For its part, the state broadcaster SVT has linked the criticism of TV4 as an expression of Islamist propaganda, associating criticism of the channel’s reporting on the Örebro killings with a Salafist social media account.

Corruption is increasing in Sweden

The corruption in Sweden

Published 13 February 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Under Ulf Kristersson's government, corruption in Sweden has increased.

Under the Moderate-led government, corruption in Sweden continues to increase and is currently at its worst level since the measurements began.

– It is serious for Sweden that the negative trend has not been broken, says Ulrik Åshuvud, Secretary General of Transparency International.

Every year, the organization produces a Corruption Perceptions Index that ranks 180 countries and territories according to how the level of public sector corruption is perceived by experts, analysts and business people.

It is based on 13 independent data sources and uses a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 is extremely corrupt and 100 means there is virtually no corruption at all.

It should be noted that the Nordic countries and almost all of the Western world are doing relatively well according to the index but that there is still a clear negative trend for Sweden.

“New low”

As last year, Sweden is ranked 6th, this time with 80 points two fewer points than last year. Although this is a high score compared to most other countries, it is also the worst result since the surveys began.

We are now at a new low, it has dropped by nine points since 2015 and that is a very big negative change, says Ulrik Åshuvud in an interview with the Swedish national broadcaster SVT.

According to the index, Sweden is currently the second most corrupt country in the Nordic region only Iceland scores worse. Meanwhile, Denmark is the least corrupt country in the world, scoring 90 points out of a possible 100. Finland is second with 88 points and Norway is fifth with 81.

There are several factors that mean corruption in Sweden is expected to continue to increase but Åshuvud believes that the increase in organized crime, lack of transparency in public procurement, conflicts of interest and cronyism are the biggest problems.

Infiltration and extortion

He points out that criminal networks can use undue influence, infiltration and blackmail to influence processes and decision-making of various kinds.

– The decisions taken may not be the right decisions. People make different decisions or avoid making decisions because they feel threatened, he explains.

Another factor that leads to corruption is that Sweden is a fairly small country and that those in power and representatives of different interests often have a relationship with each other from before which means there is a risk that decisions are made on the wrong grounds.

– There is a tendency to favor others, in recruitment, to bring in people who don’t have the right background or because they know a person they would rather work with. This should not happen in the public sector. It should be based on impartiality and merit.

The world's least corrupt countries according to the CPI:

1. Denmark (90)

2. Finland (88)

3. Singapore (84)

4. New Zealand (83)

5. Luxembourg (81)

5. Norway (81)

5. Switzerland (81)

6. Sweden (80)

7. Netherlands (78)

8. Australia (77)

8. Iceland (77)

8. Ireland (77)

9. Estonia (76)

9. Uruguay (76)

10. Canada (75)

10. Germany (75)

The world's most corrupt countries according to the CPI:

180. South Sudan (8)

179. Somalia (9)

178. Venezuela (10)

177. Syria (12)

176. Yemen (13)

176. Libya (13)

176. Eritrea (13)

176. Equatorial Guinea (13)

175 Nicaragua (14)

174 Sudan (15)

174. North Korea (15)

173. Myanmar (16)

173. Haiti (16)

172. Turkmenistan (17)

172. Burundi (17)

172. Afghanistan (17)

171. Tajikistan (19)

170. Democratic Republic of Congo (20)

Sexual violence and coercion common among young Swedes

Published 13 February 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Almost a quarter of young women have experienced sexual coercion.

Many young women report being sexually assaulted, according to a report by the Public Health Agency of Sweden. A significant proportion have also experienced physical violence in connection with sex.

In the Public Health Agency of Sweden’s survey, 9,444 people aged 16-29 years answered questions about sexual and reproductive health and rights. It shows that most young Swedes are satisfied with their sex life and also had positive experiences of their last sexual encounter.

At the same time, almost a quarter of young women, 24%, say they have been subjected to vaginal, anal or oral penetration against their will. In addition, 19% report experiencing some form of physical violence during sex.

̶  The fact that so many young people are victims of sexual and sexual-related violence is alarming and unacceptable. It is clear that more and more effective violence prevention measures are needed. We also need to strengthen prevention efforts, risk assessments and support for honor-related violence and oppression, says Olivia Wigzell, Director General of the Public Health Agency of Sweden in a press release.

Honor-related violence and oppression

Approximately one tenth report that they have been subjected to honor-related violence and oppression. This can include family demands on the partner’s gender, ethnicity or religion, or to abstain from sex before marriage.

The survey also shows that 45% of young people have had sex without a condom with a new or casual partner in the past year. The proportion is similar between genders but higher among younger people. In addition, 19% of men and 37% of women have been tested for sexually transmitted infections in the past year.

– We interpret the results as indicating that condom use is too low, and that too many young people are putting themselves at risk of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies where condoms could provide protection. The low level of testing also poses a risk of spreading sexually transmitted infections, says Lennie Lindberg, Head of Department at the Public Health Agency of Sweden.

Swedish government’s top priority: continued support to Ukraine

The war in Ukraine

Published 13 February 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Volodymyr Zelensky and Ulf Kristersson during a meeting in 2023.

The Swedish Government announces that continued Swedish support to Ukraine is at the top of the foreign policy priority list.

– For Sweden, support for Ukraine is not just a moral duty, but an investment in Europe’s and our own security, independence and freedom, says Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard (M).

On Wednesday, the Minister for Foreign Affairs presented the Government’s foreign policy declaration for the coming year and the foreign policy priorities that are considered most important to focus on.

– This year’s foreign policy declaration is being presented at a difficult time in terms of security policy. We – Sweden, the EU and NATO – are in a long-term and far-reaching confrontation with Russia. Russia will continue to pose a serious threat to security in Europe, regardless of the outcome of the war in Ukraine, the minister warned.

– Our task is inescapable: we will counter Russia’s ability to do us harm, not least by supporting Ukraine, Malmer Stenergard promises.

The center-right government states that “support for Ukraine is the government’s primary foreign policy task” and that more than SEK 70 billion (€6 billion) has been pumped into the project so far.

“Gender equality” a key issue

In addition to this, there will also be a focus on various initiatives at NATO and EU level strengthening “resilience against attempts to destabilize our societies such as cyber attacks, disinformation and sabotage of critical infrastructure”, it says.

In particular, the Foreign Minister emphasizes that “gender equality” is a fundamental core value of Swedish foreign policy and promises to invest in promoting it in 2025.

– In 2025, Sweden will chair the Executive Board of UN Women. As Chair, we will drive global gender equality work forward and emphasize the importance of women’s economic empowerment.