Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Viking-era cultural heritage site in Sweden looted in overnight raid

Published 8 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Anundshög is usually described as one of Sweden's most important ancient monument areas.
2 minute read

This week, the important ancient site Anundshög was subjected to extensive looting – apparently with the help of a metal detector.

First you get angry, and then you just feel empty. It’s actually hard to find the words, says the disheartened archaeologist Sara Wisén Saveca.

Someone, or several people, under the cover of darkness, dug over 50 holes of varying sizes in the ground at the Viking-era heritage site outside Västerås.

The incident has caused dismay among both experts and the public. Although archaeologists believe that historical objects once buried there are now gone, it remains unclear what treasures the looters actually made off with.

Some likely used a metal detector and dug into the ground where they got a signal. They have removed things that we would want to excavate archaeologically in order to gain knowledge about the Viking Age, says Nina Eklöf, director of Västerås Museums.

“Been here for thousands of years”

She’s keeping her fingers crossed that the thieves were unlucky and only found modern, lost objects, such as iron nails and horseshoes – but points out that they could just as easily be artifacts from the Bronze Age or other historical eras now lost to science.

Since this place is still one of the sites in Sweden that holds a wealth of knowledge, they may also have taken important information with them that could help us understand this Viking-era site.

– It’s impossible to explain the feeling of how something can so quickly destroy something that has been here for thousands of years, she continues.

“Vandalism against our shared cultural heritage”

A report has been filed with the police, who say they have visited nearby residents in the hope that someone may have observed the thieves.

Minister of Culture Parisa Liljestrand (M) is one of many who have drawn attention to the crime and says that the incident makes her “furious“.

“This is not just theft – this is a purely indecent act of vandalism against our shared cultural heritage”, she noted on social media.

A historically important site

Anundshög is Sweden's largest burial mound and is located in Badelunda, about five kilometers east of Västerås in Västmanland. The burial mound measures about nine meters in height and has a diameter of 64 to 68 meters. It was built during the Late Iron Age, sometime between 500 and 1050 AD, and is believed to have been a central place for the exercise of power and events during this period. During the Middle Ages, the area was also used as a courthouse.

The area around Anundshög is rich in archaeological remains, including several shipwrecks, smaller burial mounds, stone circles, a labyrinth and a remarkable rune stone – Vs 13 – which is over three meters high. The rune inscription reads: ”Folkvid erected all these stones after his son Heden, Anund's brother. Vred cut the runes.

According to tradition, the medieval Eriksgatan, the historical route that newly elected kings traveled along to be recognized by the provinces, passed Anundshög, as marked by erected stones along the way. Today, Anundshög is a well-visited cultural heritage site with guided tours, information signs and regular events such as Archaeology Day.

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Swedish minister praises Israel’s destruction of Gaza: “Doing the whole world a service”

The genocide in Gaza

Published today 10:44
– By Editorial Staff
Swedish politician Ebba Busch and her party's support for Israel continues to be virtually limitless - despite warnings of ethnic cleansing, genocide and war crimes.
3 minute read

While increasing voices condemn the Israeli invasion of Gaza as an ongoing genocide and Prime Minister Netanyahu openly speaks of occupying the entire area, Swedish Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch chooses instead to praise Israel’s war.

— Israel is doing the whole world a service, she declares, pointing to Hamas as solely responsible for the suffering and destruction in the region.

The statement comes after the Swedish government announced it wants to freeze the EU’s trade agreement with Israel, in an attempt to increase pressure to get humanitarian aid into Gaza. But the decision has met with criticism, particularly from the Christian Democrats – a party that has long acted as one of Israel’s most loyal defenders in Swedish politics, support that seems unaffected by whatever war crimes or crimes against humanity Israel has been accused of.

Busch herself expresses some reservation about the government’s line, arguing that the message was presented in an unbalanced way:

— The focus became one-sided, she claims.

In a Facebook post, the Christian Democrat leader writes that the government’s position may be reconsidered:

“If Israel does more or if it turns out that there is no basis for Israel bearing a great responsibility for the emergency aid not getting through, there is no reason to maintain the government’s position”.

She adds that “it is unambiguous that Hamas bears the great responsibility for the war and the human suffering in Gaza”.

“Need to increase pressure on Hamas”

While Israel’s invasion and bombings have led to tens of thousands of killed women and children, extensive civilian devastation and harsh international condemnations, Busch chooses to fully defend the country’s actions.

— The root of the war we see between Israel and Hamas is precisely Hamas. It was Hamas that started this war with the terrible terrorist act almost two years ago. It is Hamas that chooses to continue holding hostages, it is Hamas that chooses not to sign peace agreements. And we need to increase pressure on Hamas to lay down their weapons, she says.

— Israel is doing the whole world a service in trying to neutralize Hamas and trying to dissolve Hamas.

When asked if she stands behind the government’s message about working to freeze the trade agreement, Busch answers:

— We have opened up for the far-reaching measure of putting higher economic pressure on Israel, if it is the case that Israel is not doing everything within reason’s limits to let humanitarian support through.

Won’t comment on occupation plans

Recently, the Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to occupy the entire Gaza Strip. Busch, however, does not want to reveal whether she supports these plans or not.

— I haven’t seen that and then I don’t want to comment on it.

The government’s message has also stirred emotions domestically. The very pro-Israeli Sweden Democrats’ party leader Jimmie Åkesson called the decision a “disaster” in a post on X. Ebba Busch, however, does not want to answer whether the Sweden Democrats can be given influence over foreign policy going forward:

— Now we have the agreement that we have now, she says.

British nationalist leader stopped at Arlanda – alleged to threaten Swedish values

The threat to freedom of speech

Published yesterday 11:34
– By Editorial Staff
Collett was scheduled to speak at a summer party organized by the nationalist association Det Fria Sverige (Free Sweden) in Töreboda, a town in central Sweden.
2 minute read

British nationalist Mark Collett, leader of the organization Patriotic Alternative, was detained by Swedish border police immediately upon arrival at Arlanda Airport near Stockholm on Friday – and subsequently deported.

He was an invited speaker at a summer festival organized by the nationalist association Det fria Sverige (Free Sweden) in Töreboda, central Sweden, but was stopped with the justification that he “poses a threat to public order, society’s structure and the values on which Sweden and Europe are built”.

According to Collett’s own account, he was held at the airport for over 25 hours, without access to luggage or passport, despite not being suspected of any crime.

“After being stranded for more than 25 hours at the airport, two police officers finally came and said it was time to leave. They escorted me to a gate and made sure I boarded a direct flight home”, he writes on Telegram.

He further notes that no EU country would dream of treating an illegal immigrant the way Swedish border police treated him – despite him entering the country completely legally.

The deportation is based on utlänningslagen (Chapter 8, sections 11-12), which gives authorities the right to deny entry to foreigners deemed to pose “a genuine, actual and sufficiently serious threat to a fundamental societal interest”. What this means in practice is very unclear and leaves extensive and arbitrary room for interpretation. Critics argue that the law is used to prevent regime critics and dissidents from entering the country, based on their opinions rather than actual criminality.

Ideologically driven border control

Collett has been a well-known figure in British nationalism for decades, with a clearly immigration-critical and ethno-nationalist agenda. However, it remains unclear how his views that non-European mass immigration is destructive and negative would constitute a threat to Swedish interests. According to critics, the case rather demonstrates ideologically driven border control, where political positions – not actions – determine who is allowed to enter.

There is no criminal investigation or inquiry against Collett, and no information suggests he was planning anything illegal. Yet his mere presence was deemed incompatible with Swedish values – an assessment that was apparently sufficient to detain him and carry out a deportation.

Instead of scrutinizing the border police’s legally questionable actions against regime critics, several Swedish establishment media outlets have seized the opportunity to attack Collett – who is described as, among other things, a dangerous “Nazi”, “white power leader” and “far-right extremist”.

Swedish home care warns: More elderly drinking excessively

Published 2 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
2 minute read

An increasing number of home care recipients over 65 have alcohol problems, according to a new report from Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen). The trend is causing concern among staff who are raising alarms about increased risks and problems linked to substance abuse.

In Sweden, alcohol consumption has decreased over the past 20 years across all age groups, except for people over 65 who are instead drinking more. The problem is particularly evident in home care services, where alcohol abuse among people in this age group has increased by 73 percent over the past ten years.

This only applies to people who have been identified through specialized healthcare, which means it’s likely an underestimate and suggests there could also be a significant number of unreported cases, says Isabella Björling, investigator at the National Board of Health and Welfare, in a press release.

Home care staff are also raising alarms about increased substance abuse and the problems that arise. Among other things, the risk of fall injuries increases while there is generally a greater need for care for a person with substance abuse. It also creates a more unpredictable work situation for staff.

– It’s quite common that we have to come in when the situation has become dire. Many times they have been hospitalized, says nursing assistant and safety representative Sofia Andersson to Sweden’s public radio SR.

Difficult to do anything about

The National Board of Health and Welfare believes that competence development is needed within home care services, but also that new working methods need to be developed to handle the growing group of elderly substance abusers.

There is also a need for increased collaboration between healthcare providers as both care needs and the work environment are affected by substance abuse problems.

Despite home care staff seeing the risks, it’s difficult to do anything about substance abuse, according to Andersson.

– We have to, quite bluntly, order alcohol for them. Of course we go in and try to talk about the situation, but if they want us to shop for them, that’s their right, she says.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson reported to police for child trafficking

Published 1 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The report, which concerns suspicions of human trafficking and serious document forgery, has been submitted by criminologist and former criminal investigator Jenny Rogneby.
2 minute read

The Swedish Prime Minister is accused of human trafficking and aggravated document forgery linked to his previous role as chairman of Adoptionscentrum (Swedish adoption agency). Jenny Rogneby, who is herself adopted from Ethiopia, has filed the report and argues that extensive misconduct has been overlooked for decades.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of the Moderate Party has been reported to police for his involvement in Sweden’s international adoption operations. The report, which includes suspicions of human trafficking and aggravated document forgery, has been filed by criminologist and former criminal investigator Jenny Rogneby.

Rogneby, who is herself adopted from Ethiopia, points to Kristersson’s role as chairman of Adoptionscentrum between 2003 and 2005. During this period, the number of adoptions from China doubled, while warning signals about misconduct had already begun to emerge.

This is about child trafficking, forgeries, official misconduct and other serious crimes where many have been affected – but where no one has yet been held accountable, Jenny Rogneby tells Dagens ETC.

Several actors reported to police

The police report targets multiple actors within the adoption sector, not only the Prime Minister. Among those reported are Adoptionscentrum’s management, the Swedish Authority for Family Law and Parental Support (MFoF), the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and private adoption agencies.

The background to the report is the state adoption commission’s investigation, which showed that Swedish actors had knowledge of serious misconduct within adoption operations for several decades. Despite this, the operations were allowed to continue without intervention, according to Rogneby.

Serious allegations of child trafficking

In an Instagram post, Rogneby describes the scope of the alleged misconduct: “Children have been declared dead despite being alive, kidnapped, registered as abandoned and sold – and subsequently adopted to Sweden under false premises.”

She claims that the state investigation contains extensive documentation showing how false documents were used, how consent was lacking or obtained under misleading circumstances, and that financial incentives played a decisive role in adoption processes in several cases.

“These are very serious circumstances that, in my assessment, should be examined legally,” she writes to Dagens ETC.

The adoption commission’s report has previously led Sweden to halt international adoptions from several countries and tighten control of adoption operations.

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