Saturday, May 3, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

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Zara employees are timed in the bathroom

Published 16 April 2024
– By Editorial Staff
Zara store in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Employees of clothing retailer Zara describe an extremely controlling work environment. Clocked bathroom visits, discrimination and a robotic existence are described as everyday life for employees of the clothing chain in Sweden.

– If we are in the bathroom for a long time, they follow us and check us, says a Zara employee.

In a report by Schibsted newspaper Aftonbladet, 39 employees and former employees were interviewed about working conditions at Zara, which is part of the world’s largest clothing chain, Spain’s Inditex. Seven of them are currently employed, 12 worked there last year and 20 left in 2023.

A recurring criticism among those who have worked at the chain is its strict bathroom restrictions.

– If I was in the bathroom a minute too long, they would run up to me and say, ‘Why are you a minute late?’, says one employee.

They also reportedly kept a list of bathroom visitors and had to report bathroom visits to the cashier, where they were clocked and the time deducted from their break.

– They clock us, and if we are in the bathroom for a long time, they follow us and check. Then they stand outside and say, ‘You’ve been in the bathroom a lot, what’s going on?’, says another employee.

Life is also described as robotic and a “very toxic” place to work.

– You have to be like a puppet. You are not allowed to say what you think or feel. You are their slave, explains another former employee.

“More innocent than guilty”

Employees also testify to the systematic harassment of people with foreign backgrounds, calling them “those who steal and cause chaos” during meetings. Employees were ordered to carry a clothing alarm in their pockets, and if they saw a foreigner or someone else who was considered suspicious, they were to activate the alarm themselves to search the person.

– We were told to keep an eye out for people with immigrant backgrounds. I had to quit because I refused to carry the alarm in my pocket, says a former employee.

– You should have an alarm in your pocket. If you suspect someone, you have to wait until they come near the alarm. Then you have to activate the alarm. This was a daily occurrence. But there were more suspicions than attempted thefts. More innocent than guilty, explains a former security guard who worked for Zara.

“Zero tolerance”

But Zara insists it does not discriminate against customers or employees.

– We have a zero tolerance policy for any kind of discrimination or harassment.

There are 13 Zara stores and 445 employees in Sweden. Inditex is owned by 88-year-old Spaniard Amancio Ortega. He is said to be the twelfth richest person in the world with a fortune of SEK 1,100 billion.

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Swedish mother cracks egg on daughter’s forehead during livestream – convicted of harassment

Published today 11:48
– By Editorial Staff
According to the woman, it's fun to "prank" her child on social media.

Following every bizarre trend on TikTok without thinking first is not recommended – something a 24-year-old mother from Helsingborg can now attest to.

She thought it would be a funny idea to crack an egg on her five-year-old daughter’s forehead during a livestream – but the district court disagrees, and has instead convicted the woman of harassment.

It was last summer when the young mother, aspiring to become an influencer, started a livestream on her social media while she and her daughter were sitting at the kitchen table baking apple pie.

Suddenly, the mother picked up an egg and cracked it against her daughter’s forehead, causing the yolk to run down her face. The daughter expressed that it hurt and asked her laughing mother to stop.

At the time, the 24-year-old’s account was public, and the clip eventually gained around 100,000 views. After an anonymous tip, police began investigating the incident, and now the Helsingborg District Court has concluded that the woman’s actions were unlawful.

– When I saw the video, I thought: you simply don’t do that to a child. To record and humiliate the child and then broadcast it to thousands of viewers – I find that incredibly degrading, and that’s my personal opinion, prosecutor Cecilia Andersson told Sydsvenskan.

– It’s a little girl who thinks she’s going to bake an apple cake with her mom and is happy and excited about it and then all of a sudden she gets an egg cracked in her forehead. This is a reckless act, the prosecutor further argues in the state television SVT.

“We see the phenomenon increasing”

The mother admits that the incident occurred – but denies having committed any crime. She defended herself by saying she was merely following a TikTok trend and that it’s fun to “prank” your child.

– She has herself said that this is a trend on social media, that she saw it on TikTok, and that this has been a common prank people have done.

Ängla Pändel, chair of the Institute for Law and the Internet, says that up until now, it hasn’t been very common for cases like this where parents humiliate their children on social media to go as far as the courts. But she believes that will become significantly more common in the future.

– We see the phenomenon increasing, so I definitely think we will see more cases in the future.

The woman’s sentence is a fine of SEK 20,000 (€1,800) payable to her daughter.

Swedish criminologist fired after linking genetics and ethnicity to crime on state TV

organized crime

Published yesterday 13:20
– By Editorial Staff
Leif GW Persson in a discussion with the Liberals' Johan Pehrson.

Recently, Swedish criminologist Leif GW Persson stated that there is a very clear link between genetics, ethnic factors, and crime – a link that researchers and authorities have deliberately silenced.

Now he is suddenly being forced to leave the state television program Veckan – which is also being shut down completely without further explanation.

In an episode of SVT’s Veckan med Camilla och Leif GW (The Week with Camilla and Leif GW) just over a month ago, Persson caused quite a stir when he presented a not entirely politically correct explanation for the spiraling crime rate in Sweden – factors that the authorities choose to ignore completely.

– There is one factor that has been studiously avoided, or rather two. One is the genetic link, which is actually stronger than the social links. So what about genetics if you trace this young criminal back through his family?

– That’s one thing. The other is the ethnic factor. They have avoided that, he continued, describing the link between ethnicity and crime as “very strong when it comes to serious organized crime in marginalized suburbs”.

According to Persson, these explanatory models are something “people don’t like to talk about” – and he argued that researchers are well aware of the importance of genetics and ethnicity, but that they have avoided focusing on these factors for purely political reasons.

– Criminological research can, with some justification, be accused of not really aiming at the target. The reason for this is not because people have been unaware, but because they want to avoid anything that could cause problems for them.

“At any cost, I had to be here”

The criminologist also expressed harsh criticism of politicians and other people in power, saying that they have failed completely in building a functioning police organization, among other things.

The TV personality’s comments caused an uproar among left-wing activists and liberals on social media, and he has now been fired from the tax-funded channel.

– It came as a surprise when SVT called and said they were cancelling the program. I have a clear idea of why that is, he told Bonnier-owned Amelia.

– I was actually a bit surprised because they were very eager to get me here. And that was just about a year ago. At any cost, I had to be here. Then it turned out that it was basically just to do 20 programs, Persson continues.

He does not want to confirm at this time that it was his comments about ethnicity, genetics, and crime that led to his dismissal, but he promises to comment further on the matter at a later date.

“That’s for SVT’s managers to answer”

Persson also points out that the program had good ratings, was inexpensive to produce, and received positive feedback, but that SVT’s managers nevertheless chose to cancel it. Program host Camilla Kvartoft also declined to comment on why the program was suddenly canceled.

– That’s for SVT’s managers to answer, but we’ve had two really great seasons with very high viewership, and I’m proud of our programs, she says.

Sofia Dahlström, who is the “acting commissioner for society, documentaries, and minorities” at SVT, states that it was decided from the beginning that there would only be two seasons – something Leif GW Persson does not recognize.

Comment: Who protects us from our own authoritarian leaders?

Totalitarianism

The Swedish government wants to make it harder to change the constitution - under the pretext of protecting us from future "authoritarian leaders". The problem is that those who undermine democracy are already in power.

Published yesterday 11:02
– By Jenny Piper
Moderates Ulf Kristersson and Gunnar Strömmer during a press conference.
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The ambitions of our decision-makers to increase their power are increasingly visible, and today is no exception. In light of the “all threats to democracy” that have emerged in the world recently, the government recently proposed to make it more difficult and require a larger majority to change the Swedish Constitution. In addition, the courts will be protected from political influence.

All parties apparently already agree. Much like everything else nowadays that involves important issues for the Swedish population, where we who take the biggest hit from the consequences are not consulted at all, but those in power make decisions as they see fit over the heads of the citizens – NATO membership, DCA agreement, unlimited support for the proxy war in Ukraine, the green transition, the spy law, the gender identity law, new pandemic law, etc. are just a few examples.

Referring to preemptively protecting the population from future authoritarian leaders is really the icing on the cake, given that they themselves already subscribe to that title.

Moreover, it sounds like it would be too easy to change constitutions now, but at the end of the day, it’s all about will. Had our ruling politicians wanted to make important changes, they would have made sure it was done, but instead they have dragged their feet for decades on important issues that would have benefited society, while laws/regulations that involve expanding their own control have been pushed through at turbo speed.

A perfect example of this is the introduction of new rules for revoking citizenship in order to counter violent extremism, which they have built a castle in the air around for almost 20 years.

As early as 2006, an investigation was presented to the government and parliament because the police had already reported that more than 1,000 war criminals were in Sweden and that they wanted to tackle the problems of people who had used bribes to obtain their citizenship or lied about their criminal background, as well as making it more difficult to obtain Swedish passports.

The report noted, among other things, that re-examination of citizenship and the possibility of revoking citizenship had already been introduced by several European countries, including Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany.

In December of the same year, a representative of the Christian Democratic Party sent a written question to the Minister of Justice, Beatrice Ask (M), asking how the government intended to proceed with the information that emerged from the investigation. They also asked whether criminals who have been granted Swedish citizenship should not be deprived of their citizenship.

In January 2007, Ms. Sabuni (Liberal Party) sent a reply stating that the introduction of revocation of citizenship would require a constitutional amendment and that it could therefore not take place until after the 2010 elections at the earliest.

Now, 18 years later, quite a few elections have passed in between – not to mention how violent extremism has been allowed to develop through, for example, the IS terrorists that we so kindly took back – without the constitutional amendment taking place, even though, according to our current decision-makers, it is all too easy to push through a constitutional amendment, so that the law has to be tightened further.

Ironically, at the beginning of this year, the center-right government, together with the Sweden Democrats, presented the results of (yet another) investigation into the possible revocation of citizenship in order to get at gang criminals. If this growing problem had been addressed back in 2006, we would now have more tools – but we are not talking about that.

But don’t think that a decision is imminent. A government bill is due in 2026, which needs to be voted through in Parliament, and then another vote is needed next term to change the constitution. By then, we will probably have changed the color of the government once again, and the issue could be shelved until 2029.

This was just one example. Since there is no civil service accountability (abolished in 1974) – incidentally, an issue that has also been aged for years without being reintroduced – this abuse of power that goes on in the halls of power, where it is routine to bury important issues in investigations just in time for the next election, can continue unhindered. Yet the Swedish people continue to have high confidence in these overpaid jokers and provide them with a renewed mandate every four years, because no one can be bothered in this country.

So who should be protected when we already have authoritarian leaders in place? Rather, those in power who are looking after their nest.

 

Jenny Piper

All Jenny Piper's articles can be found on her blog.

Swedish government proposes wiretapping children without criminal suspicion

Mass surveillance

Published 1 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The government's own investigator proposed that only the Swedish Security Service (Säpo) should be allowed to eavesdrop on children without criminal suspicion - but this is not enough, according to the government.

Gang crime continues to plague Sweden, with recurring bombings, shootings and contract killings spreading fear in society, without those in power managing to get a grip on crime.

Criminal gangs often use minors to carry out serious crimes. For this reason, the Tidö parties (the center-right coalition government) want to give police the authority to wiretap children under the age of 15 – even in cases where there is no specific suspicion of a crime.

During a press conference the government stated that the social trend is bleak, that “serious crime is penetrating lower and lower down the age scale” and that children are increasingly “playing central roles in the commission of serious crimes“.

Currently, police are not allowed to use “secret coercive measures” against children under the age of 15 – which allegedly hinders police work when investigating murders and bombings.

At a press conference on Wednesday, representatives of the Tidö parties confirmed that they want to change the legislation so that children can also be wiretapped – partly when they are being investigated for crimes – but also for “preventive purposes” – i.e. without any actual suspicion of crime.

These are far-reaching proposals. But it is justified by the development of society, said Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M), and continued:

– It is about preventing crime, but also about reaching those who are behind and controlling via children’s cell phones.

Dismisses own investigator’s limitations

The government’s own legal investigator had recommended that only the Swedish Security Service (Säpo) be allowed to use wiretapping without suspicion of a crime. However, the government disagrees, arguing that it is “absolutely necessary” for regular police to also be allowed to wiretap children if they can be linked to serious organized crime.

The government maintains that fighting gang crime is more important than protecting the integrity of minors. Strömmer stated that “there are very significant risks in allowing the current reality to continue as it is”.

The change in the law is proposed to come into force this fall for at least five years, after which it will be evaluated.

Although most people seem to agree that organized crime needs to be fought, many are also opposed to the fact that the moderate-led government repeatedly chooses to focus so much on increased wiretapping and surveillance. Critics also point out that there is a real risk that the surveillance apparatus will be abused in the future or used very arbitrarily and without legal certainty.