Thursday, September 11, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Swedish taxpayers expected to shoulder cost of USAID cuts

Published 4 March 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Benjamin Dousa admits that no single country is prepared to spend anywhere near the amount of USAID's international funding.
2 minute read

Earlier in January, US President Donald Trump decided to sharply cut US foreign aid and terminate 90% of USAID’s contracts.

However, Sweden’s Minister for Development Cooperation Benjamin Dousa (M) promises that the government is ready to reprioritize Swedish aid to help fill the gaps where US funding has ended.

Trump’s decision means that in the short term, an estimated $60 billion in international aid will not be disbursed, and the Swedish Moderate-led government is very upset by the announcement.

– I usually refrain from reviewing other countries’ aid policies. I can only say that this will have devastating consequences, Benjamin Dousa told state radio SR.

Even if no other individual country is prepared to spend the sums that are now “disappearing”, Dousa promises that they are prepared to use Swedish taxpayers’ money to cover some of the shortfalls that are now said to arise.

– If there is a gap where we see that we can make a difference, especially in the areas of health, women’s and girls’ rights and support to Ukraine, we are prepared to reprioritize our own support and focus on these three areas. But no single country can fill all the gaps left by a US withdrawal.

Propaganda and subversive movements

The Nordic Times has previously highlighted how the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has been a central actor in the American propaganda war and, among other things, financed influence campaigns in some 30 countries.

In Ukraine, as many as nine out of ten media companies have been completely dependent on US aid money, and even there USAID has been the single most important financier.

Most governments don’t want USAID funds flowing into their countries because they understand where much of that money actually ends up. While marketed as support for development, democracy, and human rights, the majority of these funds are funneled into opposition groups, NGOs with political agendas, and destabilizing movements”, said El Salvador’s outspoken President Nayib Bukele in the wake of Trump’s announcement to severely curtail the agency’s activities.

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Swedish government proposes prison from age 13

Deteriorating safety

Published today 13:07
– By Editorial Staff
Despite decades in the corridors of power, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has failed to tackle gang crime – but now things will be different, he claims.
3 minute read

The age of criminal responsibility will be lowered from 15 to 13 years for particularly serious crimes such as murder and serious bombings. This is promised by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson together with the party leaders of Sweden Democrats, Christian Democrats and Liberals.

In a debate article in the Bonnier publication Expressen, they argue that the law change should be time-limited to five years and only apply to the most serious crimes.

“In the serious situation we are in, we must try new measures. One thing is certain: if we keep doing what we have always done, things will keep turning out the way they always have”, the party leaders write.

The party leaders point out that the number of suspected crimes involving children under 15 has doubled in a decade and that those suspected in life-threatening shootings have become increasingly younger.

“This development must be stopped”, they state, arguing that serious crime is creeping down to younger ages.

At the same time, they highlight that the total number of shootings has decreased since 2022 and that they have more than halved so far this year compared to the record year of 2022. “But we still have levels of violence that no decent society can accept”, they write.

Three reasons for the reduction

The Swedish government and Sweden Democrats cite three main reasons for lowering the age of criminal responsibility. First, they argue that the chance of a child breaking a criminal lifestyle is greater the earlier appropriate measures are implemented.

“By lowering the age of criminal responsibility, we open up the entire toolbox of police and the Swedish Prison and Probation Service at an earlier stage”, it states.

Second, it concerns the state’s obligation to protect citizens from crime. Sanctions such as community service, youth care, youth supervision or prison enable more control and recidivism prevention measures, the party leaders argue.

Third, the sanction is important for the victim’s vindication and the legitimacy of legislation, particularly for young crime victims who are most severely affected by young criminals.

“Today’s system is not sufficient”

“It is obvious that today’s system for young criminals is not sufficient”, the party leaders write, directing criticism at previous policies. They argue that preventive measures should have been implemented ten years ago when today’s young criminals were small children.

The party leaders point out that several other countries have lower ages of criminal responsibility. In Ireland it is 12 years, and 10 years for certain serious crimes. In the Netherlands the age of criminal responsibility is 12 years and in England 10 years.

In addition to lowering the age of criminal responsibility, the government and Sweden Democrats highlight several other measures that have been implemented or are planned, including the establishment of youth prisons and the abolition of the so-called youth discount for young adults.

Police will also be able to use secret and preventive coercive measures against children under 15 in order to reach those who order crimes and prevent crimes before they are committed. In addition, secrecy barriers between schools, social services and police have been removed so that authorities can collaborate more easily.

The Church of Sweden organizes a “march of grief” for the climate

The exaggerated climate crisis

Published 8 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Swedish Bishop Andreas Holmberg is one of the key speakers at the left-wing political event.
3 minute read

The Stockholm diocese of the Church of Sweden will conduct a climate alarmist manifestation later this week where participants are encouraged to express their grief over the ongoing “climate emergency”.

For many, however, the event confirms the image of a church that has abandoned its Christian core and replaced it with left-wing radical activism.

The Church of Sweden in Stockholm is inviting the public to what they describe as a grief march on September 11.

“We invite you to a march where grief over what has been lost or is being lost through the climate emergency is given space. A public manifestation and an opportunity to grieve together with others”, write those responsible for the church in their press release.

The initiative comes at a time when the Church of Sweden has long been receiving harsh criticism from both conservatives and believers for becoming increasingly politicized and non-Christian.

Critics argue that the church has been infiltrated by left-wing radical forces that prioritize climate alarmism, LGBTQ issues, mass immigration and other “leftist issues” over Christian theology and faith in God.

Participants should come “dressed in mourning”

Bishop Andreas Holmberg will lead the march that goes from Nybroplan via Hötorget to St. Clara Church in Stockholm, Sweden. Participants are encouraged to come dressed in black or “mourning clothes” to manifest their climate grief.

“We walk in silence, with drums, without placards and shouts. The demands presented in the march: Listen to climate research, Live up to the Paris Agreement, Make decisions that secure peace and future for children, Act now”, states the invitation.

Among the co-organizers are a number of left-wing radical or climate alarmist groups such as Grand Panthers, Greta’s Elderly (Gretas Gamlingar), Grandparents For Future, Rebel Mothers (Rebellmammorna), Rebel Fathers (Rebellpapporna) and Climate Action – organizations that have previously conducted various forms of climate alarmist protests.

The Equmenia Church, PRO Stockholm County (a Swedish pensioners’ organization) and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation are also behind the event. Professor Nina Wormbs in history of technology will speak together with the bishop.

“Has nothing to do with Christianity”

For many Christians, the “climate march” confirms what they have long warned about: that the Church of Sweden has largely lost its Christian orientation and that the church’s high-ranking representatives today seem to be passionate about completely different issues.

On social media, many express grief and disappointment over the development and wonder how one should actually proceed to “take back” the national church from activists and lobbyists.

“Jesus himself emphasized the difference between politics and religion. What the Swedish Church is doing has nothing to do with Christianity”, states one user on X.

“Due to low voter turnout, politically extreme organizations have been able to take power in the Church of Sweden. The church’s gospels have been replaced with postmodernist and nihilistic messages. Go and vote next week! Banish the activists to the political arena where they belong”, argues another.

The church election takes place September 8–21 and all members of the Church of Sweden over 16 years old can vote in it.

Children tricked into sending nude photos – then extorted for money

Deteriorating safety

Published 6 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The police emphasize that parents must not blame the victimized children.
2 minute read

Last year, sexual extortion against children increased by 192 percent globally. Perpetrators manipulate children into sending nude photos of themselves and then demand money to prevent them from being distributed.

Sexual extortion of children for financial gain, known as sextortion, is increasing dramatically both in Sweden and worldwide. According to the American organization National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), reports of adults seeking contact with children online increased by a full 192 percent last year.

It is particularly teenage boys who are affected by this type of crime, which differs from other sexual crimes through its clear financial motive.

Louise Åhlén, development officer at the Swedish police unit Isöb Noa, which works with internet-related sexual crimes against children, describes the perpetrators’ methods:

— A common approach is that the perpetrator pretends to be a peer and tricks them into sending nude photos or videos. Then they threaten to distribute the image to family and friends if the child doesn’t send money to the perpetrator, she says.

“The children have done nothing wrong”

The Swedish police emphasize that how parents react if their child is affected is crucial. Louise Åhlén warns against reacting with anger or punishment:

— The absolutely most important thing is that we as parents don’t get angry at our children for having sent a nude photo or paid to avoid having them distributed. When we at the police find a child we believe has been victimized, the affected children often don’t want to tell anyone because they feel so much guilt and shame. But the children have done nothing wrong, they must receive understanding and support from the adult world, Åhlén explains.

Because the subject is so guilt-ridden and frightening for children who are affected, the number of unreported cases is probably very large. The police urge adults to talk with children both to prevent and to help those who have already been victimized.

— Ask and be curious about what’s happening in the child’s life, both what occurs online and offline, and don’t punish the child by removing apps or the phone if they’ve been victimized.

The Swedish police emphasize that children and young people’s online lives are a natural part of their everyday life that cannot or should not be prohibited.

— Children and young people socialize online. They chat and play together, it’s an important part of children’s everyday life today. We can’t protect children by forbidding them from using specific apps or games – it’s knowledge, presence and understanding that’s needed, Åhlén concludes.

Swedish politicians refused to receive migrants – face prosecution

Migration crisis in Europe

Published 5 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The chairman of the municipal council, Christian Sonesson of the Moderate Party, is one of those charged.
2 minute read

Six municipal politicians in Staffanstorp, a town in southern Sweden’s Skåne region, are being prosecuted for gross misconduct in office after the municipal board decided in 2022 not to receive a Syrian family assigned there by the Swedish Migration Agency.

Among those prosecuted is Christian Sonesson (M), chairman of the municipal council from the Moderate Party, who has previously commented on Facebook about the interrogations in the case.

“From a purely legal standpoint, we currently know nothing more than that all members have the right to a public defender”.

In March 2022, the Swedish Migration Agency assigned four quota refugees – a Syrian family – to Staffanstorp municipality according to the Settlement Act. A few days later, the municipal board, following a proposal from the chairman, decided on an immediate halt to reception, reports Bonnier newspaper Expressen.

When the family arrived at Sturup airport on May 12, no one from the municipality was present to receive them, and the Migration Agency was forced to cancel the assignment at the last minute and instead place the family in another municipality.

“Uncharted territory”

Chief prosecutor Magdalena Petersson argues that the local politicians’ decision violates the law since Swedish municipalities are obligated to follow the Migration Agency’s assignments, which cannot be appealed.

— A municipality is obligated to receive a newly arrived person after assignment. The proposal from the chairman and the municipal board’s decision violates the Settlement Act. I have therefore brought charges against six people on the municipal board who participated in the vote without reserving themselves. The crime is to be assessed as gross because the defendants have seriously abused their position as municipal politicians. It has also had consequences for both individuals and the public, she argues in a press release.

All six defendants deny wrongdoing.

— This is uncharted territory, we need to establish precedent about what applies. As far as I know, there are no previous judgments in this area, the chief prosecutor notes.

Staffanstorp under Christian Sonesson has positioned itself as one of Sweden’s most restrictive municipalities on migration issues and has repeatedly attracted national attention for its decisions. The municipality’s stance has led to friction with the Moderate Party’s significantly more immigration-liberal party leadership, which has distanced itself from the southern Swedish local politicians on several occasions.

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