tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32902002817681176112024-03-13T01:40:15.036+01:00HammarlandDaniel Hammarberg's musings on politics and lifeDaniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-27516682440468267302011-10-21T18:53:00.002+02:002011-10-22T16:53:53.945+02:00Sweden's Largest Tabloid Does Hit Piece on Joe Arpaio Which Backfires<h1 class="western"></h1><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Sheriff+Joe+Arpaio+Visits+Border+Security+xMGySXdCCHMl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Sheriff+Joe+Arpaio+Visits+Border+Security+xMGySXdCCHMl.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Even in liberal Sweden, Joe Arpaio is The Man. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">At least that's the impression you get from reading the comments to tabloid <a href="http://amerika.aftonbladet.se/2011/10/20/phoenix-arizona-joe-ar-varldens-hardaste-sheriff-later-fangarna-sova-i-talt/">Aftonbladet's hit piece</a> this Thursday on Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Sweden's largest periodical. The article is part of a tour of America two reporters at the newspaper are doing called <i>Amerika på dekis</i>, "America Down & Out." To quote the stated intention of the article series at <a href="http://amerika.aftonbladet.se/">amerika.aftonbladet.se</a>: "Peter Kadhammar and Urban Andersson are traveling across the American continent for two weeks. They will cover the American crisis which may be the end of an historic era, the American century." </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The timing of this series is highly curious, however, with the renewed interest in traditional American values and philosophy espoused by the Tea Party movement; and with large portions of Swedish society becoming ever more disillusioned in many of the ideological flagships of their own system. For the last 40 or 50 years, Sweden has been known to take a stand for abortion-on-demand; for a generous asylum policy; for society playing a large role in child-rearing; and for humane treatment of offenders instead of punishment. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><h2 class="western">Swedes are abandoning their liberal values as reality comes knocking</h2><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The last couple of years, the tide has begun to turn in all of these areas. Back during the winter of 2008-2009, there was a highly publicized case of a woman having two successive abortions because she wanted a boy instead of a girl, sparking a debate on whether you had the right to choose your child's gender. This last summer, the debate penetrated even deeper into the issue, with writers and activists openly asking the question whether there really is a "right to abortion", or <i>aborträtt</i> to use the Swedish term. One man writing for debate site Newsmill even committed the ultimate sin in the eyes of the feminists - <a href="http://www.newsmill.se/artikel/2010/09/21/abort-mord-eller-r-ttighet">he compared it to murder</a>.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">As far as immigration goes: Sweden, a country of less than ten million people, grants asylum in one way or another to nearly a hundred thousand alleged refugees every year, something that's not been very popular with the masses, yet which the the media establishment has kept out of society's debate. During the 2010 elections, however, the Sweden Democrats made their way into the parliament largely due to their stand on immigration issues. It's been the norm to shout down anyone who wants to change these policies as a "racist," but this slur is falling on ever more deaf ears.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">And though back in the 1970's, if you expressed skepticism over public day-care and social workers, you'd be dismissed as a fascist; today instead it's the social workers that are being called fascists, with families fleeing the country to escape the often seemingly arbitrary child seizures done by the social services. I went into greater detail on this matter in <a href="http://www.americandailyherald.com/daniel-hammarberg/swedish-child-welfare-tough-with-the-gentle-gentle-with-the-tough">my October 10 article</a> here on American Daily Herald.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The last pillar of the liberal Swedish welfare state is the "humane" corrections system, the one that's completely rejected the need for deterrence. The support for this system has never come close to a general backing, yet as long as savvy ideologues have been able to sprinkle enough propaganda in between the heinous violent acts that take place, the system has been able to stand. Lately, however, these violent acts have become too commonplace for the public to accept, and not even in Sweden have the know-it-alls been able to simply dismiss the silent majority the way they used to. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">This last year, Scandinavians have truly had to face up to the fact that there's nothing magical about this part of the world that shields it from the violence that's occurring beyond it's borders. Back on 22 July, Anders Breivik shot up 69 people - yet faced a maximum possible sentence of only 21 years. Three weeks ago, on 3 October, <a href="http://www.americandailyherald.com/20111004856/europe/lax-jail-security-sees-young-female-corrections-officer-killed-in-sweden">a violent offender killed </a>a much smaller female corrections officer who was alone with him at Huddinge jail. And this Tuesday, 23 out of 24 people found guilty of child pornography charges <a href="http://www.americandailyherald.com/daniel-hammarberg/in-biggest-swedish-child-porn-ring-bust-to-date-only-one-out-of-24-gets-prison">were sentenced to nothing more than fines and probation</a>. Though critics of the system are usually derided as ignorant brutes, I was somehow able to get <a href="http://www.newsmill.se/artikel/2011/10/05/varf-r-vi-nu-m-ste-l-ra-oss-av-amerikansk-kriminalv-rd">an opinion piece</a> added on Newsmill this month, calling for the Swedish system to take after the American one, using Joe Arpaio's Tent City as an example - an article that was well-appreciated in spite of it being completely in the face of the self-proclaimed "experts" of the field. Another interesting development is a site called <a href="http://www.stoppa-pedofilerna.se/">Stop the Pedophiles</a>, which unlike the Swedish justice system and media explicitly puts convicted child molesters on display for everyone to see, something for which it has faced numerous lawsuits over alleged defamation and had to shut down earlier, but is now back up, with enormous public support. People are both browsing the site to learn about child molesters in their area, and also sending in information themselves on convictions.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><h2 class="western">Mainstream media is out of touch</h2><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">In this environment, newspaper Aftonbladet still assumed they would have their readers wrapped around their little finger with this Arpaio hit piece; yet found out they did not. The article, whose title is "<a href="http://amerika.aftonbladet.se/2011/10/20/phoenix-arizona-joe-ar-varldens-hardaste-sheriff-later-fangarna-sova-i-talt/">Joe is the world's toughest sheriff, lets the inmates sleep in tents</a>," spends its first half covering the actual circumstances surrounding Arpaio and his jail system in a factual manner, but succumbs to nothing more than a character assassination during the latter half, interviewing the usual anti-Arpaio crowds such as "open borders" activists and disseminating unsourced claims such as the idea that "50-60% of the inmates return to the facility." This is then compared to the Swedish national recidivism rate of about 40%, allegedly "proving" that Arpaio's system doesn't work. Yet the fact of the matter is that both Sweden and the USA have recidivism rates of about 40% after three years - and that according to at least <a href="http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/aug/20/study-suggests-nevada-prisons-do-pretty-good-job-p/">one source</a>, Arizona's rate is significantly lower, standing at 24.5%. Readers are at a loss as to just where Aftonbladet gets its information.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">In spite of the article's clear bias against Arpaio, the support for him among Swedish readers is overwhelmingly in favor, with roughly three quarters of comments being positive. To quote a man named Fredric:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><blockquote>"Tent Jail City in Sweden... In Lapland... during wintertime... BRING IT!"</blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Last winter, temperatures in Lapland went as low as -42,6'C in Naimakka, or about -45'F. Another man named Urban writes:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><blockquote>“Can't Joe Arpaio move to Sweden and become prison chief here or just come here and teach Swedish prison chiefs how to deal with violent criminals”</blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">It's obvious that the liberal penal philosophy would simply R.I.P. if the people had their way. Most of the laws passed during the liberal era of the late 1960's and 70's unfortunately still stand, and enable a very comfortable life for inmates in Swedish prisons. The baby boomers who left this mark on society grew up in a completely different day and age than do today's youth. Back then, Sweden was possibly the safest country in the world, and it was hard to hold back the tide of reformists wanting to radically transform the old system when they presented criminals as nothing worse than hard-luck cases who just hadn't been given the same options that other people had. The mentality of that era can be seen in such productions as the 1975 film <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Release_the_Prisoners_to_Spring">Release the Prisoners to Spring</a>, where the female lead character goes out of her way to mock the need for incarceration of criminals in a childlike way.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">This is not a mentality shared by society nowadays though - people today don't afford to hold on to these romantic notions of being able to prevent crime without policing. They want to be able to walk the streets even after dark without being jumped by criminals, something that is becoming increasingly hard - which is why Arpaio is becoming a hero to Swedes as well.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><h2 class="western">Aftonbladet has even more slander in store for America</h2><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">As stated, the title of the article series is "America Down & Out," and the last couple of days they've featured these stories:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">"<a href="http://amerika.aftonbladet.se/2011/10/19/lupton-arizona-alvin-kor-en-bil-som-slukar-bensin-och-tanker-fortsatta-med-det/">Alvin drives a gas-guzzling car and intends to keep on doing so</a>", an article portraying Americans as obsessed with driving as big a car as possible, and irrationally using up their whole paycheck paying for the gas.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">"<a href="http://amerika.aftonbladet.se/2011/10/19/omelett-i-usa-%E2%80%93-ett-berg-med-65-ton-ost/">Omelet in the USA - a mountain of 65 tonnes of cheese</a>", about American eating habits, with a severely obese man adorning the title. To quote the introduction: "Americans have a neurotic relationship to food. They always need to be chewing on something."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">"<a href="http://amerika.aftonbladet.se/2011/10/21/kingman-arizona-om-du-maste-skjuta-nagon-tom-magasinet/">If you need to shoot someone, empty your clip</a>", where American gun owners are dismissed as ignorant and irrational. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">It sure would be interesting if some American media were to do a similar tour of Sweden. But I've concluded that America, for all of the attacks on the country, just doesn't stoop to that level when it comes to reporting on other countries, hence you won't see such a tour.</div>Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-43016922375962306402011-10-18T22:47:00.000+02:002011-10-18T22:47:03.794+02:00In Biggest Swedish Child Porn Ring Bust to Date, Only One Out of 24 Gets Prison<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TyQ2UUYoEIk/Tp3gXRzIOLI/AAAAAAAAAEY/srcoCWehros/s1600/Lars-Skoglund.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TyQ2UUYoEIk/Tp3gXRzIOLI/AAAAAAAAAEY/srcoCWehros/s1600/Lars-Skoglund.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Lars Skoglund, 43, was sentenced to one year in <br />
prison for heading a large child porn ring</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">During the summer of 2010, Lars Skoglund was a suspect of having molested his sibling's children. He was found innocent of this, but when the police searched his house and seized his computer, they uncovered large volumes of child pornography on his hard drives. Following this, in September he now faced child pornography charges - and while he at first was a sole suspect, some 23 women all over Sweden between the ages of 38 and 70 found themselves charged as well of the same crime, as the police discovered chat logs from the encounters the man had had with these women after hooking up with them on dating site e-kontakt.se.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">All in all, roughly 50 people were involved one way or another in the child porn ring - including a married couple in their 50's in Skåne county - yet half of the suspects had to be written off due to not being properly identified, or due to the crimes having passed the relatively short period of limitation, which in "negligible" cases of child porn is as short as two years. When the lawsuit was handed over to the court, the material included in the charges would consist of 1,181 pictures and 40 video clips, depicting children being raped in a violent manner, some of them even tied up during the act. The 43-year-old man was the main suspect, accused of having disseminated these pictures and clips to the women, though some of the women would in return send him pictures of their own as well.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Skoglund had since the early 2000's made himself quite a comfortable life being unemployed, spending several years hooking up with women over Internet dating sites. On e-kontakt.se, he would initiate contacts with the female suspects, at first merely looking for company, but soon engaging with them in mutual fantasies involving sexual intercourse with children. Some of the women on this site were actually married while they were chatting with this man, and most had children of their own. Skoglund would gradually move their conversations over to focusing on child molestation and child pornography - and the women he hooked up with indeed turned out to share this preoccupation. One woman aged 48, married and with a steady job, would expand on her fantasies surrounding intercourse with her own adult children, and with minors as well. When she was charged with this crime, she would lose both her marriage and her job.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Another unexpected encounter of his would be a now 48-year-old children's pastor, Helene Nilsson, employed by the Swedish church in Kronoberg county. During the interrogation with this woman, she would state that she was disgusted by the images, that she's never met the man, only talked to him once on the phone and didn't keep any of the pictures he sent her; yet while searching her computer, the police found both these very pictures and chat logs covering a time of four months. The Swedish church today has very much lost its roots and headed off into strange territory. Openly homosexual ministers are perfectly accepted; and in 2009, a woman named Eva Brunne, in a civil union with female priest Gunilla Lindén, became the bishop of the Diocese of Stockholm, having a poltical background in the Social Demcrat party.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The evidence the police uncovered contained not only disturbing images, but disturbing chat logs as well. While sending a picture to one of the women, Skoglund describes how horny he gets watching it. In the courtroom, District Attorney Niclas Eltenius of Falun would also later quote the man when he writes about how he'd like to rape and beat up children. He and the woman he's interacting with go into great detail on just how to go about doing this.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Skoglund would also encourage the women to take pictures themselves of their own children and send to him, which three of them did. He would also meet up with some of these women in real life and engage in intercourse with them, which seemingly didn't cause much alarm in spite of how explicit he had been about child molestation in conversations with this large number of women. Yet finally in 2010, when an acquaintance of one of the suspects had overheard him discussing molesting the children of his siblings during a conversation with this woman, he was brought to the attention of the police, and the large affair started to unfold.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><h2 class="western"> The verdicts</h2><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-273sKVMG_q4/Tp3hGKlZeOI/AAAAAAAAAEg/PbWfkr9_QpM/s1600/1887960_520_292.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-273sKVMG_q4/Tp3hGKlZeOI/AAAAAAAAAEg/PbWfkr9_QpM/s320/1887960_520_292.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lars Skoglund sitting in the courtroom.<br />
Source: Ulf Palm / Scanpix</td></tr>
</tbody></table><h2 class="western"> </h2><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">On this Tuesday, the 18th of October, Falun District Court handed down the verdicts in the case. Lars Skoglund was found guilty of aggravated child pornography and sentenced to a year in prison, him having been the only one tried under this crime classification. As for the 23 women, they were all convicted of the regular offense child pornography and given fines (some as low as 2,500 Swedish crowns, or about 400 dollars) and probation.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Lars-Erik Bergström, Lawspeaker (judge) at the court, <a href="http://www.kuriren.nu/nyheter/default.aspx?articleid=6124962">told media</a> that established precedence had been used in determining the sanctions. "Probation and a fine is the normal sanction for a child pornography crime that isn't considered aggravated."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Though mainstream media has not revealed the identity of a single person charged in the case, alternative online newspaper <a href="http://vgnt.se/23-kvinnor-atalas-for-barnporrbrott/">Västra Götalands Nättidning</a> has made up for this by disclosing the names and personal code number (the Swedish equivalent of social security number) of all 24 convicted individuals. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">As far as sanctions go, the Swedish justice system apparently takes crimes against children lightly, with few repercussions for offenders found guilty. <a href="http://www.bra.se/extra/faq/?module_instance=2&action=question_show&id=563&category_id=0">In 2009</a>, 345 cases of child pornography crime were reported to the police. 44 of these led to convictions, out of which four consisted of prison time. <a href="http://www.bra.se/extra/faq/?module_instance=2&action=question_show&id=594&category_id=1">In 2010</a>, the statistics were only marginally better - 390 reported cases leading to 83 convictions, out of which 10 were prison sentences, the rest being probation and fines.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">A man who's played a major part in setting the precedents concerning these crimes is Justice Leif Thorsson, who in 2005, at age 59, was found guilty of having bought sexual services from a 19-year-old man. Though the relationship itself is legal, paying for sexual services is not, and Thorsson committed this crime on at least five occasions in early 2005 while serving on the Supreme Court.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">With the "two-thirds rule" applying to all prison sentences, where the convict is automatically released on probation after this portion of the sentence has been served assuming good behaviour, the total amount of prison time handed down in this child porn ring will be no more than eight months - the time Lars Skoglund will have to serve in a comfortable Swedish prison. </div>Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-66734485270433619532011-10-15T13:36:00.002+02:002011-10-15T14:40:55.951+02:00Swedish Lesbian Sued County Council for Being Referred to Specialist Clinic; Awarded Damages<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XnSsJQfuYiQ/TplvUws2fZI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/alUPYol4GMc/s1600/warning_coffee_mug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XnSsJQfuYiQ/TplvUws2fZI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/alUPYol4GMc/s1600/warning_coffee_mug.jpg" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Back in 2009, a lesbian woman "married" to another woman had decided she wanted to have a child. This usually isn't a problem if you go about the natural way to have one - find a husband, hopefully marry him, and then start a family; but since she wanted to start a family without a man in it, she opted for an artificial insemination instead. To get approved for this procedure, everyone has to go through a mandatory medical examination. So on 6 February of that year, she gets in touch with <a href="http://www.slpo.sll.se/SLPOtemplates/SLPOPage1____2127.aspx">Liljeholmen care center</a>, a medical facility with excellent customer reviews at <a href="http://www.vardguiden.se/Hitta-vard-och-omsorg/Hitta-vard-och-omsorg/Kontaktkort/?HSAID=SE2321000016-14HC">Swedish care guide website Vårdguiden</a>, and gets an appointment at the gynecologist's office there. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The nurse who receives her there tells her to get an appointment with a specialist clinic instead, however, since they're not familiar with the procedure for non-heterosexual couples at this care center. As reported by the woman in the lawsuit, she was told "it's so complicated with lesbian couples," referring to the provisions in question. The care center arranges a speedy referral to the special surgery for lesbian and bisexual women at Södersjukhuset, but as would become evident later - the woman is now more interested in quarreling than in actually getting her artificial insemination. The same day, she writes an e-mail to the chief physician at Liljeholmen care center asking why she didn't get the care she had asked for during her appointment there.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Four days later, on 10 February, the woman is contacted by a doctor at the care center about being referred to Södersjukhuset. The doctor pleads with the woman to accept the referral because of the expertise they've got in this matter there, but she won't budge. After a bit of arguing on her part, the doctor finally gives in and says they will meet her request.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">A short time later, she's given another appointment there, but this time she refuses to show up because of the offensive treatment she felt had received here. By now, apparently she had all forgotten about the artificial insemination, and instead turns to the Equality Ombudsman (<i>Diskrimineringsombudsmannen</i>, DO, in Swedish) to pursue a lawsuit. This is a government agency notorious for its frivolous lawsuits, and <a href="http://www.do.se/en/">the website</a> is available in no fewer than 27 languages other than Swedish. They've got brochures about the risks of enforcing gender roles in kindergarten, about the special considerations that have to be shown by the police when arresting homosexual suspects etc. Now the DO picked up her case as well.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><h2 class="western" style="text-align: center;">Socialized health care</h2><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">A few words first about Swedish health care. As everyone is probably familiar with, the main body of Swedish health care is provided by the government, just about for free, with the the customer only paying a token fee. This system naturally has many downsides, long waiting lines being one. The other year when I suffered from an in-grown toe nail, my referral took me six months. Residents of Sweden have an absolute right to this health care, though the care given has to have what's called a medical indication for this right to exist - cosmetic surgery and such isn't covered. And while dental care was previously heavily subsidized and affordable by all, this isn't the case today, with a large portion of the population not bothering to visit a dentist for years on end. It's also pretty much a societal convention that you're expected not to abuse this system - even though it's almost free, you should respect that others might need health care too, and avoid becoming a burden on society. If you mismanage your health, don't be surprised if you might be cussed out over this by your doctor.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Some people obviously don't care about this convention though. On the story page about this initial lawsuit on the web page of Swedish medical magazine <a href="http://www.dagensmedicin.se/nyheter/2010/05/12/do-stammer-vardcentral-for/">Dagens Medicin</a>, there's been a bit of discussion by medical staff on whether artificial insemination can really be considered a right, something that has a medical indication, when it's really a matter of lifestyle preference. Had it been a transaction between a customer and a private business, it would have been a completely different ball game, but one person getting an artificial insemination might mean someone else losing out on their right to some other form of gynecological care. According to website <a href="http://www.costhelper.com/cost/health/artificial-insemination.html">Costhelper</a>, an artifical insemination can require five to ten attempts because of the low success rate, and each attempts runs between $300 and $500, making it a highly costly operation. Given this, you'd expect a person receiving all of it for roughly $30, all in all, would show a bit of gratitude.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><h2 class="western" style="text-align: center;">The notorious Equality Ombudsman Katri Linna</h2><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The Equality Ombudsman at this time was Katri Linna, who's since been dismissed due to unsatisfactory performance, with Swedish management magazine <a href="http://www.chef.se/dynamisk/index.php/index/artikel/hela-betyget-pa-katri-linna">Chef</a> rating her the absolutely worst of all of 50 surveyed private and public sector managers. She's said to be trash-talking employees, run her agency in a dictatorial manner, make unclear decisions that can be changed at a moment's notice, cause conflicts at her workplace etc, getting a low score in almost all areas. She made herself quite infamous when she managed to get a <a href="http://www.do.se/sv/Om-DO/Stamningar-och-forlikningar/Tingsrattsdom-Arbetsformedlingen/">Muslim man awarded damages</a> because he lost out on a job from refusing to shake a woman's hand. Now she was filing what would become one of her very last lawsuits.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The nurse who had been in contact with the lesbian woman at the care center and referred her to the clinic was now summoned to an interrogation (that's the very word they use in the lawsuit) by the DO, and the paperwork concerning the case was also retrieved for inspection, material that was later included as evidence. On 17 May 2010, DO Katri Linna files the lawsuit with the Stockholm district court against the Stockholm county council, demanding 100,000 crowns (about $15,000) in damages for the alleged discrimination the woman had suffered, a very large sum by Swedish standards. For comparison, the victims of forced sterilizations during the mid 20th century were eventually able to apply for the sum of 175,000 crowns. Now she wanted two thirds of this sum for being told "it's so complicated with lesbian couples" and being referred to a specialist clinic.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><h2 class="western" style="text-align: center;">The verdict</h2><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">This Thursday, on 13 October, the verdict from Stockholm district court was in. As reported by <a href="http://www.dagensmedicin.se/nyheter/2011/10/13/diskrimineringsmal-om-lesb/index.xml">Dagens Medicin</a>, the court judged in the woman's favor, siding with the DO. The damage claims were reduced, however. The court did find that even though the woman had suffered discrimination, this wasn't intentional on the part of the care center, and she hadn't been left with any serious complications since she was given a new appointment at the same care center. The final damages awarded were the sum of 15,000 crowns, though the county council had to pay the DO legal fees of 30,000 crowns plus interest as well. To quote an anonymous physician commenting on the news of the verdict:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><blockquote>"It's no wonder that some care givers tremble when they're dealing with a lesbian since they know that one little slip of the mouth can cost them a fortune. The vast majority of Swedes and just about everyone within the health care system really want to treat their clients in a perfect way, but in some situations it can be hard knowing how to go about it. Sometimes they want 'the same treatment as anyone else,' sometimes it's taken for granted that you're supposed to be treated in a special manner because you're a lesbian."</blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">It's not known whether the woman ever went through with an artificial insemination. Or whether she had really wanted one in the first place, perhaps only looking for a reason to sue.</div>Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-79257139137194627252011-10-13T08:41:00.000+02:002011-10-13T08:41:30.428+02:00Swedish Inmate has sex in Front of Child; Staff Interrupts, Fiancée Files Complaint and Wins<h1 class="western"></h1><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X6TrDUzhqwU/TpYAFXbP9qI/AAAAAAAAAEI/zX7IRtoWAf8/s1600/conjugal-visit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X6TrDUzhqwU/TpYAFXbP9qI/AAAAAAAAAEI/zX7IRtoWAf8/s320/conjugal-visit.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">In Sweden,we've got a public authority called the Parliamentary Ombudsman (JO is the Swedish acronym), an institution tasked with ensuring that laws are adhered to and that we as citizens can file complaints if some part of the government has stepped on us. People in general don't make much use of this right as they go about their daily lives, and if they do, they certainly don't experience the JO as being very accommodating – yet inmates at Swedish prisons sure make up for it. The background for this article was a JO decision I read this morning dated 30 September this year, where a woman had filed a complaint since she felt it had been “disrespectful and offensive” that corrections officers had interrupted her and her inmate boyfriend when they had engaged in sexual intercourse in front of their five-month-old daughter during a conjugal visit. <a href="http://www.jo.se/Page.aspx?ObjectClass=DynamX_SFS_Decision&Id=5582">Swedish JO response here</a>.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Inmates are usually free to engage in such intercourse at their will at Swedish institutions, and to my knowledge the officers never interrupt the ones who do, even if you might feel this is a luxury the ones who have had themselves confined to institution life should be denied. Yet this time, on the afternoon of 18 September 2010, they had their little toddler with them in a baby stroller in the middle of the room while they slept with each other in the nearby bed. The corrections officers had noted that the woman had brought their baby into the room, and when they heard from the outside that the couple were engaged in intercourse inside the room, they went up to the shift officer's quarters because they were worried about the well-being of the child. This officer then accompanied them to the room, carefully knocked on the door to then a couple of seconds later opened it.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The inmate was then asked to come with them to the office, but was given time to get dressed with the door closed. At the office, they explained to him that it was against prison rules and the Social Services Act to engage in sexual intercourse in front of children. Then he was allowed to return to the room. The woman did however feel it was a violation of their personal integrity and decided it was time to make her voice heard about it. Among other things she stated that her daughter was asleep at the time and therefore didn't see or hear what went on. Furthermore she felt that she and her boyfriend ought to have been explicitly informed about these rules in advance, that you're not allowed to engage in sexual intercourse within the sight of children – it wasn't enough that they were urged in person to show respect for other people during their stay at the institution. That's why she filed a complaint against the two officers who had went for the shift officer.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">As is usually the case during JO complaints against the Prison Service, soon a large portion of the prison administration and other staff within the Prison Service were interrogated on what had taken place, among others security inspector Christer Jansson and prison chief Gustaf Robertsson. These men described the extensive information visitors are presented with about the rules during stays, but admitted they're never explicitly informed that it's not allowed to engage in sexual intercourse in front of children – as if it should be necessary to point this out.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">When it was time for JO Cecilia Nordenfelt to make her decision about this complaint, she expressed herself in the following way:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><blockquote>“The Prison Service has stated that it's not appropriate that there is sexual activity in a conjugal room where children reside and that it's not allowed according to prison policy. Personally I remain hesitant to whether it's reasonable to enforce such a general ban. In normal cases one should, according to my opinion, be able to let this be settled by the child's guardians. If an institution has a policy concerning sexual intercourse during visits where children are participating it does however appear obvious that the prison informs the inmate and the visitor in advance about this policy. In my opinion it might be suitable to deliver such information in writing. From the investigation, it's clear that the procedure adhered to by the prison is that the inmate and the visitor are verbally urged to show respect for other people but that they're not explicitly informed that sexual intercourse isn't allowed when children are present. I feel it's not enough with an exhortation to show respect. When taking into consideration that one risks interrupting the conjugal visit because of there being sexual intercourse taking place, the institution has to explicitly brief about the ban in question. The Prison Service deserves criticism for the lacking information.”</blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">So according to this JO it's acceptable to have sexual intercourse right in front of a toddler, and if the prison doesn't feel this should be allowed, it's expected to inform about this in writing. For sure, the complaint didn't lead to any repercussions for the affected parties – complaints to the JO very rarely do – but it's unbelievable that such a preposterous complaint leads to such a large investigative effort.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><h2 class="western" style="text-align: center;"> The prison in question - Västervik norra</h2><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Even though this prison sure looks comfortable from the outside – the <a href="http://www.kvv.se/sv/Fangelse/Vara-anstalter/Vastervik-Norra/">web page</a> lists occupations such as a workshop (wood and mechanical); education at elementary, high school and university level; agym, a volleyball court and table tennis – inmates here have sent in <a href="http://www.jo.se/Page.aspx?MenuId=106&MainMenuId=106&Language=sv&ObjectClass=DynamX_SFS_Decisions&Action=Search&Reference=&Category=260&Text=v%E4stervik+norra&FromDate=&ToDate=&submit=S%F6k">no less than 46 complaints about it to the JO</a>. They appear to empty their hearts out complaining about every little thing. To quote what a Facebook page for ex-convicts has to <a href="http://sv-se.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=112180258819420&topic=340">say about this prison</a> (this is one intact paragraph, broken up for commentary).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><blockquote>"The truth is that this prison abuses its power relatives have it hard coming in contact with inmates mail doesn't work either the way you're used to... Sometimes you had to wait for a whole week for mail and it turned out that the letters you got were sent the week before."</blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Ah, the downsides of prison life... You don't get mail delivered the next day like people do out in society.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><blockquote>"Some "SCREWS" that is corrections officers treat the inmates very bad and the prison has gotten countless numbers of Jo complaints against it..."</blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Later on I'll show you some of these very complaints.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><blockquote>"Then when they complain that there is work to be had that isn't true either the inmates have got nothing to do and prison chief Christoffer he doesn't like giving furloughs unless you attend one of the programs he feels a client should attend...“</blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">No work? How about being unemployed out in society? Isn't it enough with all the opportunities for sports and leisure you have on the inside?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><blockquote>“There is a lot of blackmail on the part of the prison and that's not ok... My cohabitant had it rough other inmates' relatives had it rough as well and to put more salt in the wound the prison didn't inform you if like the soc [social services] or the probation administration had been looking for you... A whole week could pass before you were informed of this... Dear readers this is the truth about Västervik Norra prison a bad institution......"</blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Oh, baby, this sounds really harsh. Let's have a look at a few of the complaints inmates at <i>Västervik norra</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> have sent to the JO – I've covered these ones in more detail in my book <a href="http://amazon.com/dp/9197936219/">The Madhouse: A critical study of Swedish society</a></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Case 1:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The prison chief told an inmate to shut up when he was interrupting a meeting repeatedly. The inmate filed a complaint with the JO, and both the Prison Service and the JO agreed to criticize the prison chief over this, saying that it "wasn't suitable" for him to express himself that way. <a href="http://www.jo.se/Page.aspx?MenuId=106&ObjectClass=DynamX_SFS_Decision&Id=4742">Link</a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Case 2:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">According to the inmates at the institution, the prison had unlocked the doors to the rooms too late on repeated occasions during 2009, when they were supposed to be unlocked at 8 in the morning. On 17 December 2009, they were unlocked at 8:10. On 3 January 2010, one unlocked them as late as at 8:20. The institution staff explain that snowfall had prevented them from getting to the prison in time. For 3 January the prison states that one did indeed lock up at 8:00, when all the rooms appear to have been opened, but apparently one room got locked up again. The officer in charge didn't notice his mistake until at 8:20, when he unlocked the door and went over to the inmate to apologize. The Prison Service explains that the officers work in different units with different procedures, and the officer had followed the wrong procedure at this time. In her response, JO Nordenfelt quotes a law text with the acronym KVFS 2009:4, which explicitly states that all prison rooms have to be unlocked at 8:00 at the latest. She continues: “What has happened is naturally not acceptable and the prison can't escape criticism” <a href="http://www.jo.se/Page.aspx?ObjectClass=DynamX_SFS_Decision&Id=4889%20">Link</a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The moral of this story? If you go to Sweden for a visit, don't bother checking into a hotel or a hostel, when you can get yourself incarcerated and enjoy free quarters. Remember - if you get anything less than 5-star service, complain to the JO!</div>Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-46622248049294489452011-10-10T16:10:00.000+02:002011-10-10T16:10:53.255+02:00Swedish Child Welfare - Tough With the Gentle, Gentle With the Tough<h1 class="western"></h1><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Through an unexpected string of events, Swedish child welfare has recently become a hot topic internationally, with no fewer than three other countries involved in highly publicized child welfare controversies. But first, let's start off with a domestic matter - <i>vanvårdsutredningen</i>, "The abuse investigation" in English, the inquiry into the excesses children in Swedish foster care had to endure during the mid 20th century, and the financial compensation the victims who suffered this abuse were looking forward to.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Earlier this year, Minister for Children Maria Larsson hinted at former foster care children possibly becoming eligible for financial compensation, following the investigation that's been in progress since 2006. This September it turned into a stormy matter, however, as she was forced to deliver the gloomy news that the incumbent government had decided there would be no compensation. The left-wing parties of the Riksdag were quick to seize this opportunity to turn the matter into party politics, and chairman of the Left Party, Lars Ohly, went as far as describing the current centrist government as "shameful" and "autocratic" in his <a href="http://blogg.svt.se/debatt/2011/09/14/skamligt-av-regeringen/">debate article here</a>. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The family policies that led to this abuse were spearheaded all the way by the Social Democratic party, with the parties that make up the incumbent government having played no part in it; yet there he was, siding with the very Social Democrats and calling Maria Larsson's announcement "a scandal." I personally found his attacks on the Christian Democrats in particular very shameful, due to this party for a long time having been the sole voice of opposition in family policy matters. In the last paragraph of his article, he writes:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">"In the fall budget of the Left Party there are funds set aside to compensate the foster care children. In spite of the cowardice and shameful actions of the government we really hope that it will be so."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The Left Party earlier considered themselves Communists, but dropped that term when the Berlin wall fell. His party has been the right-hand man of the Social Democrats throughout much of the 20th century, securing them the parliamentary support needed to pass their bills many a times, yet here he now was, grandstanding in his vitriolic assault on the parliamentary right-wing bloc. I personally found it hard standing his manners, which is why I wrote <a href="http://www.newsmill.se/artikel/2011/09/16/myndigheternas-vanv-rd-av-barn-p-g-r-n-i-dag">a debate article for popular site Newsmill</a>, where I among other things criticized the left for exploiting the affair, and also cautioned people on what solutions to look for when it comes to protecting children - neither the UN-introduced Convention on the Rights of the Child, or more funding for bureaucrats to "strengthen the protection for children" in the system will help. I argued that what we really needed to do was to scale the system back and let the parenting role return to the biological family.</div><blockquote><h2 class="western" style="text-align: left;"> Child seizures are at a record level</h2></blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Today, almost 25,000 children are in the Swedish foster care system, a figure it's not been at for several decades - not since the days of the large orphanages of the mid 20th century has as large a portion of the children in the country been in foster care. Half a year ago, I made a video clip I called "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHMxo4RB89s">State of the Swedish child welfare address</a>," where I brought up many of the things happening in the system back then; yet since this, there have been a number of new developments, and this new peak in the number of children in the system brought me to the decision to make a new overview. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">It's interesting to note that few other countries have this large a portion of the children in foster care. Indeed, when comparing the Icelandic and German systems, I found that Iceland kept only 1/5 as many children per capita in its system, at a price of 1/9 of the total Swedish cost, and that Germany only kept 1/3 as many, relatively speaking. The large monies circulating in the system might be to blame for this, as many couples support themselves here solely through acting as foster parents for two or three children, and social workers starting orphanages sometimes become millionaires from the generous government payouts. One of my planned projects is to write an exposé on one particular orphanage - <a href="http://www.oasen.com/"><span style="font-style: normal;">barnhemmet Oasen</span></a>, where owner Rune Nensén takes out a salary of almost a million dollars a year, and many children have run away from there because of the conditions they're being forced to live under. The following is a clip of a girl in her early teens running from Oasen back home to her father, whom she preferred to live with; yet the social services sent the police to the family's house to put her back into the institution.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/VYhk9NX7LSk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">This summer I wrote a petition calling for an end to these atrocities by removing the government from the nuclear family: ”<a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/let-our-children-go-for-a-complete-overhaul-of-swedish-family-policy">Let our children go! For a complete overhaul of Swedish family policy</a>.” Feel free to sign this if you want to help put an end to what you witnessed in the video above.</div><blockquote><h2 class="western"> Domenic Johansson's foster parents are moving to adopt him</h2></blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Back in June of 2009, as a family of three were leaving for India, police intervened and seized the boy after the social services had decided the boy should be in state custody rather than with his own family. I've personally monitored this case since 1 August 2009, when I first became aware of it due to a <a href="https://forum.nkmr.org/index.php/topic,1630.0.html">post made on the forum for the Nordic Committee for Human Rights</a>, even though there's been a huge blackout about it in Swedish media. Only the latest development in the case will be covered here, though; for more of the story since then, go to the <a href="http://friendsofdomenic.blogspot.com/">Friends of Domenic Johansson blog</a>. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The family has not seen each other very much since then, with only brief supervised visits being allowed during the first year and a half - and even this contact was completely abolished in late November 2010, when Christer defied the authorities and used his supervised visit with his son to instead take him home, in violation of the terms imposed on the family by the social services. This Wednesday, father Christer revealed on the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/returndomenic/">Facebook group concerning this matter</a> that he had been notified that the foster family was moving to adopt his son. Ever since the first days of the care placement, the family on the Indian mother's side have pleaded with their own government to pressure Sweden to allow the family to emigrate intact - and with these news, they redoubled their efforts, yet to no avail, the Indian government appears as unwilling to bring up the matter, as the Swedish one is to reconsider it.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">International media has however picked up on this development, with both <a href="http://www.wnd.com/index.php/index.php?pageId=352733">WorldNetDaily</a> and the <a href="http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/Sweden/201110070.asp">Homeschooling Legal Defense Association</a> highlighting it. The HSLDA is providing a letter readers can send to the Gotland social services if they want to protest this move. For now, the decision the social services appears to have made back in 2009 to permanently give the then 7-year-old Domenic a new home appears to stand. The family consists of his foster mother, his foster father and a slightly older sister. The last report I heard of him was that he appeared to be leading a fairly normal childhood, having been sighted a month or so ago buying groceries with them in a Visby store. </div><blockquote><h2 class="western"> When in Rome, I get it... But getting arrested during your vacation?</h2></blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">This summer, Italian politician Giovanni Colasante went for a vacation in the Scandinavian countries with his family. While in Stockholm, his son started a fuss about not wanting to eat at a restaurant, demanding they go somewhere else instead. In accordance with Italian customs, the man simply grabbed his son by his hair and started to drag him back, which alarmed some of the bystanders. What he thought would be simply a visit to a restaurant turned into him being arrested for child abuse, as someone had called the police and reported him.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">After being arrested and put in jail, he was soon in court, charged with child abuse. Here he described the incident, merely stating: “I held my son by the collar of his jacket and his hair for a moment." Since the boy had not suffered any injuries, the court considered the offense a misdemeanor; even though he was sentenced to a fine of 6,600 Swedish crowns (about a thousand dollars), this was waived, and he was able to return home a free man, having suffered no more than a three-day incarceration for a couple of seconds of hair-pulling.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The affair got immense coverage in Italian media, where they found themselves puzzled at just why the Swedish authorities reacted this way. For the story in more detail, see <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2037008/Italian-politician-convicted-child-cruelty-pulling-son-s-hair-eating-Swedish-restaurant-culture-clash.html">the article at the British Daily Mail</a>.</div><blockquote><h2 class="western"> Spare the rod, create a monster</h2></blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Not everyone has it this rough with Swedish child welfare, though. In this country, the social services generally handles all legal sanctions for youth offenders, and minors who break the law are sentenced to assorted forms of care that's meant to prevent them from becoming full-fledged criminals. Sometimes this pampering can just be too much, like in this recent case.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">In the small town of Enköping, with a population of some 20,000, there was at the start of the year an almost unbelievable specimen of a 14-year-old boy. He had recently been suspended from his elementary school after having amassed this rap sheet during his time there:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">* He had threatened to kill teachers as well as other pupils and regularly carried a knife to school.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">* He was the leader of a youth gang.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">* He had been indicted for drug charges, perverting the course of justice and having headbutted another pupil.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">After he had been enrolled in a new school, he went up to the principal's office on 18 March, after he had learned that this principal had reported him to the police because of his antics. He told him he would kill him and left his office briefly to go get a baseball bat. A couple of minutes later, he returned with this bat, while the principal had gone into hiding in another room, completely terrified. Then the boy took out his rage on the the man's office instead and demolished it.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Following this crime spree, the police were reluctantly forced to hand over the boy to the social services, which judged the appropriate legal sanction would be to be forced to meet with a contact person a couple of times a week, while still living at home. This was in spite of the fact that the boy had explicitly told the social services that he was going to kill this principal, either with a knife or a gun, and in the courtroom he also stated that he had intended to kill the man while at his office.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">During this last summer, he's burglarized people's homes, newsstands, cars (both looted them and set them on fire), threatened police officers, resisted arrest, been caught with drugs etc etc. His crowning achievement came in June, when he set the pub <i>Joar Blå</i> on fire, a deed whose reconstruction efforts will run nearly a million dollars.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Since there has been no legal way for the justice system to restrain this boy, the police have pleaded desperately with the social services to take him into custody, but not until 18 August would they finally put him in an institution, after he was on trial yet again for his latest crimes. For the Swedish source to this story, see <a href="http://www.unt.se/enkoping/pojken-stoppades-inte-i-tid-1479726.aspx">this newspaper article</a>. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">In conclusion - Sweden just might be the only society in the history of the world to manage to be both a dictatorship and an anarchy at the same time.</div>Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-25030988954933340402011-10-05T23:10:00.002+02:002011-10-06T14:54:42.297+02:00New Details Emerge in Killed Corrections Officer Case - 40+ Blows Landed<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eSwA4FuUVqs/TozGViCdewI/AAAAAAAAAEA/dDuze_yVxAQ/s1600/killer1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eSwA4FuUVqs/TozGViCdewI/AAAAAAAAAEA/dDuze_yVxAQ/s1600/killer1.jpg" /></a>The other day I reported on the brutal and lethal attack on a corrections officer that transpired here in Sweden back on Monday. Now the identity of the perpetrator [shown on the right] has been publicly revealed, and the identity of the young woman who was going to be 25 this Wednesday has also become known through word of mouth. Something that might be of interest to Americans is that she has been confirmed as having attended an American university.<br />
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Karen Gebreab, born in Sweden in 1986, enrolled at Eastern Connecticut State University in the fall of 2005, allegedly studying social work according to an unconfirmed source. After graduating, she went back to Sweden and started work at the Huddinge jail, where she would be brutally bludgeoned to death only one year later. In this picture from the university, she's just recently arrived, with her in the bottom left corner:<br />
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To an American audience, it might appear somewhat strange for a skinny university graduate to start work at a jail, but the penal philosophy in Sweden is based on communication and understanding. It's believed that by maintaining a dialogue with the clientele behind bars, one can avoid violent confrontations. This belief would cost her her life, as she was walking an inmate almost twice her size so he could go for a smoke outdoors.<br />
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Head of Huddinge jail, Agneta Kempe, told media: "This is a girl everyone liked." The majority of staff at this facility are women, just like Karen, with the jail showing little regard for the logistical problem of having them maintain order over violent male inmates. Karen herself was a woman of smaller stature than most at her 159 cm in height, or 5'2; the average adult male height is almost a feet more - 182 cm, or 6'0. Not to infringe on the seriousness of the event, but when I measure her height on the wall next to me and compare it to mine, I find it outright laughable that someone a head shorter than many of the inmates was actually expected to guard them. <br />
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<b>The Killer</b><br />
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The first reports that came in about the perpetrator had his age at 30, but now it's been determined that his name is Erik Ljungström, that he's 28 years old, with a long history of theft and violent crime behind him and a work history sketchy at best. This is his criminal record from his first convictions in the year 2000:<br />
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2000 Probational sentence for car theft, unlawful driving and aggravated DUI.<br />
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2001 Order of summary punishment for two counts of shoplifting.<br />
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2002 Probational sentence for theft, shoplifting, criminal conversion and drug charges.<br />
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2003 Order of summary punishment for unlawful driving.<br />
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2004 Probational sentence for assault and carrying a concealed awl.<br />
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2006 Six years in prison for attempted murder. He stabs another man three times with a knife and the man almost dies. His sister Sofia was a participant in the act, luring the victim to the location of his ambush.<br />
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2010 Released on parole on 18 June.<br />
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August of 2011:<br />
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Arrested for attacking a childhood friend with a knife and committing arson in his own home.<br />
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It's been reported that the man has also seen a psychiatrist for over ten years and is considered highly troubled, constantly bearing grudges against people he's come in contact with.<br />
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<b> The Act</b><br />
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Though the footage of the attack has not been released to the public yet, we now have a decent account of what transpired from the many sources in mass media. Since new newspaper articles are coming in as we speak, the curious reader can get the story from expressen.se, aftonbladet.se, dn.se or svd.se, Sweden's four largest newspaper. This is how it went down at around 10.30 AM this Monday:<br />
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1. The man asks to get to go for a smoke. He's allowed to enter the elevator alone and head up there, with Karen arriving moments later.<br />
2. In the immediate area, another female guard is also present, though whether she's present when the man walks outside or not is unclear.<br />
3. Now he's alone with Karen, with her unarmed. She turns to unlock the door, and then he attacks from behind, hitting her repeatedly as she falls to the ground.<br />
4. The other female guard catches notice of what's going on; she grabs her nightstick and runs there to intervene. Due to prison regulations, guards aren't allowed to strike at an inmate's head with the nightstick, however, hence she hits him on the arm instead.<br />
5. Erik appears unfazed by this strike and instead snatches the nightstick from her and uses it to keep beating on Karen. Before it's over, he's hit her with over 40+ blows, and she's only got 15 minutes left of her life.<br />
6. After a couple of minutes, male officers appear, with him getting on his knees to willingly surrender before they even reach him. Later medical examination showed that he appeared to have broken his right hand in the process of beating up Karen.<br />
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This Tuesday he was in court again, this time charged with murder. His lawyer Lars Hedsäter was interviewed for <a href="http://tv.expressen.se/nyheter/inrikes/1.2581606/mordmisstankte-erik-ljungstrom-bevakades-av-en-vardare">Expressen web TV </a>and stated that his client "doesn't feel too well," and that "he's a bit depressed." Erik would not make any statement on his own guilt when asked by the court.<br />
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This whole affair has left a whole nation wondering just how this can happen, that's for certain. On Monday, anti-feminist writer Pär Ström rhetorically wrote a piece for debate site Newsmill where he asked the question, "Should violent criminals be guarded by women?" And on the Internet underground forum Flashback, there's been <a href="https://www.flashback.org/t1674472">a thread with posts in the thousands</a>, where people have dug up every information they can on the people involved and on the act itself, the way people usually do here since mass media has a habit of holding back information until it's officially cleared. For a nation that abolished the death penalty a century ago, this act has many people calling for exactly that. To quote anonymous posters on this forum, representative of how many Swedes feel right now: <br />
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"I think he should be executed with a nightstick + punches."<br />
"Hell, he should be hanged to death. Get the death penalty."<br />
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There's also been an unexpected legal move, as chief prosecutor (equivalent of the D.A. in the US) <a href="http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/1.2581477/aklagaren-misstanker-tjanstefel-bakom-vardarens-dod">Stefan Bergman is filing a lawsuit</a> against the Prison Service itself, charging it with miscarriage of duty.<br />
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Yours truly has also posted a debate article to Newsmill, calling for a general prison reform and adopting American penal philosophy to Swedish institutions, which is now up at <a href="http://www.newsmill.se/artikel/2011/10/05/varf-r-vi-nu-m-ste-l-ra-oss-av-amerikansk-kriminalv-rd">http://www.newsmill.se/artikel/2011/10/05/varf-r-vi-nu-m-ste-l-ra-oss-av-amerikansk-kriminalv-rd</a>.<br />
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It's my hope that Karen's unfortunate death will be the final straw on the back of liberal crime philosophy. Indeed, this dastardly act has unveiled it in its full moral bankruptcy.Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-6577134089401882172011-10-03T22:07:00.001+02:002011-10-04T13:49:36.741+02:00Lax Jail Security Sees Young Female Corrections Officer Killed in SwedenLast June, this 25-year-woman, whose identity has not yet been revealed to mass media, started work at Huddinge jail as a corrections officer. During her morning shift this Monday, she was jumped and bludgeoned to death with her own nightstick by a 30-year-old man with a history of violent crime, as he was being booked for attempted murder. The bloody assault took place on the roof of Huddinge jail at around 10.30 AM, when she was alone with the repeat offender during an outdoor walk.<br />
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For a long time now, Sweden has been ravaged by numerous attacks by inmates on correction officers, who face daily threats and assaults as they carry out their duties. However, due to the country's preference for "humane" treatment of offenders, the officers are bogged down by regulations limiting their ability to deal with the convicts in an effective manner, with more attention being paid to the rehabilitation and well-being of the inmates than prison security and employee protection. In spite of the 30-year-old having been previously convicted of other violent crimes, the 25-year-old woman was still alone with him at the time of the assault, armed with nothing more than a nightstick.<br />
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<b> At first thought to be an accident</b><br />
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As the woman's body was discovered shortly thereafter on the roof, the Prison Service at first assumed she <a href="http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=160&artikel=4728273">had suffered an accident</a>, according to Gunilla Ternert, regional director for the Stockholm Prison Service. As paramedics arrived and picked her up, they realized this was a case of assault. At this time she was still alive, but she would be pronounced dead from her injuries shortly after reaching the hospital.<br />
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Around lunchtime, Gunilla told Swedish Radio that "there had been a quarrel, a commotion;" though during a press conference later that afternoon, Hesam Akbari, the head of information at the Södertörn police force contradicted this information after having reviewed security footage and told mass media that "what has become evident is that it appears to have been completely unprovoked. One could call it an assault." The identity of the perpetrator has not been made available to the public, however, nor has this footage.<br />
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<b> "Security is good"</b><br />
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Swedish Radio also interviewed <a href="http://www.kriminalvarden.se/sv/Medier/Pressbilder/Personbilder/Inga-Mellgren/">Inga Mellgren</a>, General Director of the Swedish Prison Service, who stated that "security is good" at Swedish jails. <br />
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<a href="http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/haktesanstalld-dodad-vid-brak_6520440.svd">To newspaper Svenska Dagbladet</a>, representatives of the union for corrections officers, SEKO, relate an ever more stressful work environment, with ever more tasks assigned to them, more paper work and more time alone with inmates. In a press release, Christer Henriksson from SEKO writes that "even if the government maintains that the funding has increased, this has not been assigned to staff reinforcements."<br />
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<a href="http://www.kvv.se/sv/Statistik/Kostnader-lon-och-sysselsattning/">Swedish correctional facilities are extremely costly</a> by international standards. In today's currency, an inmate at a jail such as this one costs the equivalent of $400 a day, and slightly more than that at an actual prison. This is about about five or six times as much as the typical US inmate cost. Compared to American prisons, the Swedish Prison Service prioritizes rehabilitation and inmate comfort to a much greater extent, than the role a prison has traditionally been expected to serve.<br />
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The Commanding Officer at Huddinge jail also <a href="http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/fangvardare-dodad-av-fange_6521278.svd">told Svenska Dagbladet</a> that the staff at the institution all feel incredibly bad right now. This incident is far from the first one of its kind, with frequent attacks by inmates on corrections officers, many of whom are women. The greatest risks are posed when inmates have to be transported between institutions, a procedure that is heavily regulated under Swedish law so as not to constitute discomfort for the inmate - and some officers are even assaulted in their own homes by former inmates or their cohorts.<br />
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<b> Employees have complained about work hazards</b><br />
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Regional safety representative <a href="http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/1.2580289/haktet-har-tidigare-fatt-kritik-men-inget-har-gjorts">Markko Murtosaari told newspaper Expressen</a> that employees at Huddinge jail have sent in complaints to the Prison Service in the past over the hazards they face as they're regularly expected to walk the inmates alone; "They [the Prison Service] have not wanted to talk to me. We had called for a meeting, but our employer didn't agree to this," he continues. Markko states that the Prison Service has settled with cameras for security, but this apparently didn't save the young woman's life.<br />
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Though corrections officers face a rough life in prison, the opposite could be said about the inmates, with one person per cell, TV sets, game consoles, leisure activities and wonderful accommodation. For a video clip I produced about the Swedish correctional system, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSAtByo6KGg">go here</a>. Inmates are also granted extensive privileges under Swedish law, and if these are not met, they're entitled to complain to the Parliamentary Ombudsman (JO in Swedish), whose judgements are almost always in their favor, with the added stress on the prison employees of having to be interrogated in the process. In my book "<a href="http://amazon.com/dp/9197936219/">The Madhouse: A critical study of Swedish society,</a>" I go into greater length on this topic, yet a few of these cases can be mentioned here:<br />
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The prison chief told an inmate to shut up when he was interrupting a meeting repeatedly. The inmate filed a complaint with the JO, and both the Prison Service and the JO agreed to criticize the prison chief over this, saying that it "wasn't suitable" for him to express himself that way. <a href="http://www.jo.se/Page.aspx?MenuId=106&ObjectClass=DynamX_SFS_Decision&Id=4742">Case link</a><br />
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An inmate at Sweden's toughest prison stressed out a female employee by telling her to get more yoghurt for him. Directly afterwards, she told her co-workers that she felt like killing him, not aware that the communications equipment was still on. He complained to the JO that he "felt threatened and frightened" because of this, and the employee had to go before a disciplinary board that reprimanded her. The Prison Service told her that the matter was "very serious" and that her expression was "completely unacceptable;" the JO wrote, "the conduct warrants especially serious criticism." <a href="http://www.jo.se/Page.aspx?MenuId=106&ObjectClass=DynamX_SFS_Decision&Id=3244">Case link</a>.<br />
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If this glimpse into the madness that is the Swedish penal system has made you depressed, you might be able to get relief by watching this music video I compiled from assorted material though:<br />
"<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQFRG3j6tHg">Servin' hard times - Tough on Crime music video inspired by Joe Arpaio</a>"<br />
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Hopefully we'll some day be able to change our penal system back to the way it was before the radical left ruined it during the 1970's. Until that day, I guess we'll have to settle with watching American prison documentaries in awe.Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-55449156479455543992011-08-29T14:50:00.000+02:002011-08-29T14:50:59.494+02:00Swedish Gun Laws and Globalist Confiscation Schemes<br />
<h1 class="western"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></h1><h1 class="western"> </h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-swM1NPdeZos/TlssrI5cI9I/AAAAAAAAAD8/pYjLJrgtkFk/s1600/P4020072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-swM1NPdeZos/TlssrI5cI9I/AAAAAAAAAD8/pYjLJrgtkFk/s320/P4020072.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: 7.22cm;">While not much of significance has taken place lately on the gun front since the Brady bill was passed back in 1993, now a new threat looms on the horizon - but this time its origin isn't at the usual Capitol Hill, but at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: 7.22cm;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div style="margin-left: 5.0cm; text-align: right;"><i>The Knotted gun" sculpture outside the UN Headquarters, by Swedish artist Fredrik Reuterswärd.</i></div></div><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Though many of you may have a vague idea about Swedish gun laws, let me give you a brief overview of the circumstances facing prospective gun owners in this not too freedom-loving monarchy. Though highly restrictive on personal liberty in many areas, Swedish legislation is neat and tidy, and just about all regulation concerning firearms is condensed into two documents – the <a href="http://www.notisum.se/rnp/sls/lag/19960067.htm">Vapenlag</a> [Weapons Law] of 1996, and the <a href="http://www.notisum.se/rnp/sls/lag/19960070.htm">Vapenförordning</a> [Weapons Ordinance] of 1996. It would be too verbose for this article going into every single detail about these Swedish laws, but here are a couple of facts about their contents:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><ul><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">When you apply for a permit, you have to state for what purpose you need a certain firearm, and have the police approve of your choice of firearm for this purpose. Self-defense is not a valid purpose. About the only firearms you can own are hunting rifles (which require a hunting license) and non-automatic pistols (which require you to have been a member of a pistol shooting club for at least six months).</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Permits are generally only for five-year periods. To quote the <a href="http://www.polisen.se/sv/Lagar-och-regler/Vapen/Vapenlicens/">Swedish Police webpage</a>:<cite><br />
</cite> </div><blockquote style="margin-right: 0cm;"><cite>“It's up to the permit owner to make sure to have a valid permit for his firearm and to apply for a new permit early enough for it to be processed in time. Neglecting to make sure you've gotten a new permit can mean weapons crime charges.”</cite></blockquote></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">All gun owners have to be registered by the national police along with an individual entry linked to the owner's name for every firearm in possession. The firearms must be kept in state-approved locked storage facilities, which the police need to have access to in order to make sure the regulations are adhered to.</span></cite></div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">Only members of the armed forces may have permits for fully automatic weapons.</span></cite></div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">A permit may be revoked at any time at the discretion of the police, and firearm owners are generally not told in advance that the police will confiscate their weapons, usually only handed a template justification afterwards.</span></cite><br />
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</ul><h3 class="western"><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">We Apparently Need Even More</span></cite></h3><h3 class="western"><cite><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></cite></h3><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">Though most people would consider these laws outright draconian, there are plenty of calls for even more strict legislation; something that just as as in the USA also takes place in Sweden when there's a tragedy involving guns, such as the recent massacre by Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik. On the 9th of August, an <a href="http://www.dn.se/debatt/gor-vapnen-svaratkomliga">opinion piece</a> by a child physician published in one of Sweden's largest newspapers, called for a complete ban even on pistols. Measures such as these have strong support in the country's medical community and among the political establishment. After another man had gone on a shooting spree last year in Malmö, with five attempted murders and one actual homicide, there was a complete media frenzy, and Minister of Justice Beatrice Ask <a href="http://hd.se/skane/2010/11/08/fler-hordes-om-malmoskjutningar/">took the opportunity</a> to present her view on how one could come to terms with the problem of gun violence. </span></cite> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><blockquote><cite>“<span style="font-style: normal;">Beatrice Ask also feels that an overhaul has to be made of the weapons regulations, that gun permits for example have to be subject to inspection and review.”</span></cite></blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">The health authorities also added their two cents:</span></cite></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><blockquote><cite>“<span style="font-style: normal;">The National Board of Health and Welfare has previously forwarded requests both for review of gun permits and that everyone applying for one shall also have to present a doctor's certificate. There the Minister feels that mental illness is a factor that shall mean that you're denied a gun permit.”</span></cite></blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">Following this, on 16 November, Ask also <a href="http://www.rod.se/r%C3%A4ttsv%C3%A4sen/ask-vill-sk%C3%A4rpa-vapenlag">announced before the parliament</a> that a new, stricter weapons law was in the works. To quote:</span></cite></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><blockquote><cite>“<span style="font-style: normal;">The police shall also be able to request a statement from the social welfare board and the prison service along with a doctor's certificate to determine whether someone is fit to own firearms.”</span></cite></blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">Hence, what this means is that you might have to show your criminal record sheet, whatever journal notes the social services has kept on you (and they play a significant role in Swedish society), as well as produce a certificate from a psychiatrist that you are indeed mentally competent (guilty until proven innocent).</span></cite><br />
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</div><h3 class="western"><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">Even With Gun Control, Criminals Still Own Guns</span></cite></h3><h3 class="western"><cite><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></cite></h3><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">In spite of the tyrannical control of firearms, this has had little effect on the explosion in the violent crime rate the country has been suffering from during the last couple of decades, with a homicide rate that's now at an historic all-time high, with 333 reported cases during 2010, or about 2/3 of the American rate; rape and assault rates are over twice as high as the American ones.</span></cite></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">And whilst the government has always attempted to tighten the noose around legal gun owners after every incident of this sort, the vast majority of violent crimes are committed through the use of illicit weapons. The control of these illicit weapons isn't nearly as successful as the one of their legal counterparts, as admitted in <a href="http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=83&artikel=638006">a police interview</a> from 2005. To quote:</span></cite></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><blockquote><cite>“<span style="font-style: normal;">The police estimate that thousands of firearms are smuggled into Sweden ever year. Every day on average, three serious crimes are committed with illicit firearms. Yet Customs has a hard time intercepting the gun smugglers. During 2003 and 2004, fewer than twenty firearms were seized by Swedish Customs workers.”</span></cite></blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">One of the most publicized shooting sprees in Swedish history, during which a man in mass media labeled </span></cite><cite><i>Lasermannen</i></cite><cite><span style="font-style: normal;"> - “The Laser Man” - shot at eleven immigrants and killed one of them, was also committed with an illicit weapon, hence would not have been affected by these control efforts. This doesn't seem to bother the police though – somehow everything becomes a matter of preventing any sort of unlicensed gun ownership:</span></cite></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><blockquote><cite>“<span style="font-style: normal;">According to Sonny Björk at the Stockholm county police, the cooperation is necessary. But he also feels the law needs to change to get at the growing smuggling.</span></cite></blockquote><blockquote><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">- We have to up the sentencing guidelines for illicit weapons ownership so it doesn't become appealing carrying a firearm. Today you gladly accept a prison sentence for the advantage of owning a firearm, Sonny Björk says.”</span></cite></blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">One thing you can count on never hearing in the public debate is criticism of the gun laws in place here. There is lamentation over that big crazy country in the west, however, where the people own all of these guns. In an <a href="http://www.sydsvenskan.se/varlden/article232719/Ingen-vill-driva-fraga-om-skarpt-vapenlag.html">editorial in Sydsvenskan</a> shortly after Seung-Hui Cho shot up Virginia Tech University, Lennart Pehrson expresses his grievances over the in his view pretty much unrestricted gun ownership in the USA. Sweden is also the country where infamous Michael Moore is hailed as a truth-teller and a hero, where the state-TV is always keen on showing his documentaries repeatedly, <a href="http://svt.se/2.61757/1.406803/bowling_for_columbine">Bowling for Columbine</a> being one of the movies promoted on its web page.</span></cite><br />
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</div><h3 class="western"><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">The United Nations and You</span></cite></h3><h3 class="western"><cite><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></cite></h3><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">So, what does all of this mean for you? Unfortunately, back in the late 1990's, the UN started treading a path it hadn't taken before – it started organizing international cooperative efforts on the matter of crime prevention, a task that till then had pretty much been the exclusive responsibility of the Interpol, at least on a global level. During the year 2000, the UN General Assembly passed <a href="http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CTOC/">Resolution 55/25</a>, </span></cite><cite><i>The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime</i></cite><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">, taking a major step towards cooperation on related matters as well.</span></cite><br />
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<cite><span style="font-style: normal;">The year after, this was followed by <a href="http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=A/RES/55/255&Lang=E">Resolution 55/255</a>, </span></cite><cite><i>The Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition</i></cite><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">. Through this protocol, the teamwork that was initially meant to concern itself with actual crime, now pursued other agendas as well – though the stated aim was to fight illicit weapons, it will be an effective tool in the hands of the UN and its member states at monitoring and controlling firearms ownership. To quote the protocol:</span></cite><br />
<blockquote style="text-align: center;"><cite>“</cite><cite><i>Article 7</i></cite></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: center;"><cite><i>Record-keeping</i></cite></blockquote><blockquote><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">Each State Party shall ensure the maintenance, for not less than ten years, of information in relation to firearms and, where appropriate and feasible, their parts and components and ammunition that is necessary to trace and identify those firearms and, where appropriate and feasible, their parts and components and ammunition”</span></cite></blockquote><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">The wording on just what records will be kept is strikingly vague, stating merely “information in relation to firearms.” Will this require states to maintain national registries over all gun owners and their weapons the way Sweden does? To the best attempts of mine to find out, I just can't tell. The subsequent article describes how the firearms will be made identifiable:</span></cite><br />
<blockquote style="text-align: center;"><cite>“</cite><cite><i>Article 8</i></cite></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: center;"><cite><i>Marking of firearms</i></cite></blockquote><blockquote><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">At the time of manufacture of each firearm, either require unique marking providing the name of the manufacturer, the country or place of manufacture and the serial number, or maintain any alternative unique user-friendly marking with simple geometric symbols in combination with a numeric and/or alphanumeric code, permitting ready identification by all States of the country of manufacture;”</span></cite></blockquote><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">Sweden is one of the countries pushing these protocols the hardest, alongside other globalist work groups tasked with combating global warming and similar, and the country both <a href="http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XVIII-12-c&chapter=18&lang=en">signed and ratified</a> the protocols without any reservations unlike many other countries. Thankfully, the United States still has not signed these additional protocols, even though it had <a href="http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XVIII-12&chapter=18&lang=en">signed and ratified</a> the parent convention in 2005 with some reservations.</span></cite><br />
<br />
<cite><span style="font-style: normal;">That the United Nations is moving into the Interpol's territory is alarming, since unlike the Constitution and general practice of the UN, the Interpol has clear limitations on its scope in its own Constitution. <a href="http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/LegalMaterials/constitution/constitutionGenReg/constitution.asp#art3">Article 3 of said Constitution</a> reads as follows:</span></cite><br />
<blockquote><cite>“<span style="font-style: normal;">It is strictly forbidden for the Organization to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.”</span></cite></blockquote><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">This is to prevent it from its authority from being abused to pursue other agendas than what is traditionally considered crime prevention. For example, during the last two decades, many European states has severely restricted freedom of speech and made derogatory statements about ethnic groups and religions considered “hate speech,” punishable by prison – the toughest sentence so far took place in Germany a couple of years ago, when a man in his 70's received a six-year sentence. Within the European Union, suspects are generally extradited between the member countries, but in spite of demands on the Interpol to do the same, the organization refrains from intervening.</span></cite><br />
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<cite><span style="font-style: normal;">The UN Convention has no such restrictions, on the other hand. For that reason, it's of grave concern that protocols are now being added to it, one by one. One can easily foresee a future in which Socialists are able to clamp down on the two things they hate the most: Free speech and gun rights. </span></cite> <br />
<cite><span style="font-style: normal;">Less than a year ago, <a href="http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CTOC/working-groups.html">a special working group</a> was established under this Convention. To quote:</span></cite><br />
<blockquote><cite>“</cite><cite><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Working Group on Firearms</b></span></cite></blockquote><blockquote><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">At its fifth session, held in Vienna from 18 to 22 October 2010, the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime adopted resolution 5/4. In this resolution the Conference decided to establish an open-ended intergovernmental working group on firearms, to advise and assist the Conference in the implementation of its mandate with regard to the Firearms Protocol.”</span></cite></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-left: 0cm;"><cite><span style="font-style: normal;">Will this international cooperation one day mean American gun owners will face the same tyranny as the ones in Sweden? I sure hope not, but I do feel one needs to keep an eye on the United Nations and its global governance schemes.</span></cite></blockquote>Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-50050631770931263542011-07-24T16:26:00.000+02:002011-07-24T16:26:57.675+02:00Manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik, not very Christian at all, he even buys hookersAlthough some have claimed that the killer was a Christian, and he did indeed claim to be one, his manifesto speaks for itself on this matter. He obviously cares little about Jesus or Christianity, merely using this as a facade for his hostility towards Islam. This is a count of some of the words used in his eight hundred thousand word manifesto (<a href="http://www.danielhammarberg.com/manifesto.pdf">get it at this link</a>):<br />
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Jesus - 62 times<br />
Muslim - 1921 times<br />
Muslims - 1724 times<br />
Islam - 1480 times <br />
Islamic - 1405 times <br />
Allah - 301 times<br />
Jihad - 427 times <br />
Jihadist - 30 times <br />
Islamist - 50 times<br />
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This is word cloud generated by IBM word cloud:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4mVp6hjHnJ0/Tiwp0nzQJeI/AAAAAAAAAD4/wCEhRhOv3OQ/s1600/manifest.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4mVp6hjHnJ0/Tiwp0nzQJeI/AAAAAAAAAD4/wCEhRhOv3OQ/s320/manifest.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The manifesto mostly consists of his twisted world-view, and some contributions by other people as well, and is hardly worth reading. What's interesting is however how towards the end he documents his descent into self-destruction the last couple of years. To quote: <br />
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<blockquote>"I spent three years were I focused on writing the compendium, 2083. During a 12 month period in the beginning, I also played World of Warcraft part time (which had been a dream for some time – hardcore raiding:)."</blockquote><br />
<blockquote> " Oh, and I’m also playing Fallout 3 – New Vegas atm after just finishing Bioshock 2. I’m also going to try the new World of Warcraft - Cataclysm when it is released in December. Time to dust of my mage…"</blockquote><br />
<blockquote>"My concerns and angst relating to this phase impacted my motivation, to a point where I had to initiate specific counter-measures to reverse the loss of morale and motivation. I decided that the correct approach to reversing it was to initiate another DBOL steroid cycle and intensify my strength training. I also spent some time locating and downloading some new inspirational music. A lot of new vocal trance tracks and some inspirational music by Helene Bøksle. In addition; I decided I would allow myself to play the newly launched expansion: World of Warcraft – Cataclysm."</blockquote>This "Christian" is apparently not afraid to buy hookers, either:<br />
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<blockquote>"I have reserved 2000 Euro from my operations budget which I intend to spend on a high quality model escort girl 1 week prior to execution of the mission."</blockquote><br />
My analysis of the whole matter is that the man didn't have much of an identity himself, since he had not assimilated that of his family, his country or his native religion. For him, Jesus didn't mean anything, he only references Jesus in the context of a commentary on historical developments, and when it comes to alleged persecution in Islamic countries. It would appear as if he had very much indulged in life and lived in a very hedonistic way, but towards his late 20's started to hate what he had become. He wanted to see himself as a pure knight when he was as hedonistic as people come. Then Islam started becoming the focus for his life, and he appeared to assume Christianity as a banner in order to fight this enemy of his. He proved that he was neither a Christian or a nationalist by killing 84 children and youth that day.Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-60015444497509922512011-07-23T16:04:00.001+02:002011-07-23T16:15:34.059+02:00Anders Behring Breivik, the Oslo shooter, and his political commentsThese are excerpts from Anders Behring Breiviks comments on document.no. These are not views I share, they're merely meant to orient people on the political sympathies of this man. The bulleted lines are my summaries of his views.<br />
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Translated from http://www.document.no/anders-behring-breivik/<br />
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<ul><li><b>You're not supposed to sympathise with Palestine, and he's got no sympathy for today's churches</b></li>
</ul>2009-12-09 17:14:41<br />
<blockquote>"But the Protestant church of today is a joke. Ministers in jeans marching for Palestine and churches that look like minimalistic shopping malls."</blockquote><br />
<ul><li><b>He equates Islam, Communism and Nazism and considers them all dangerous ideologies of hate</b></li>
</ul>2010-02-17 10:56:52<br />
<blockquote>"And then we have the relationship between conservative Muslims and so-called 'moderate Muslims.'<br />
<br />
There are moderate Nazis too, who don't support gassing Gypsies or Jews. But they are still Nazis and want to be able to sit and watch when the conservative Nazis strike (if that ever happens). Are we to accept moderate Nazis as long as they distance themselves from gassing Gypsies and Jews?"<br />
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"For me it is very hypocritical to treat Muslims, Nazis and Marxists differently. They are all supporters of ideologies of hate. Not all Muslims, Nazis and Marxists are conservative, most are moderate. But<br />
does it matter? A moderate Nazi might, after having experienced fraud, choose to become conservative. A moderate Muslim can, after being refused to enter a club, become conservative, etc.<br />
<br />
It is obvious that the moderate supporters of ideologies of hate, at a later date may choose conservatism.<br />
<br />
Islam(ism) has historically caused 300 million deaths<br />
Communism has historically caused 100 million deaths<br />
Nazism has historically caused 6-20 million deaths<br />
<br />
All ideologies of hate should be treated the same."</blockquote><br />
<ul><li><b>He's not a Norwegian nationalist</b></li>
</ul>2010-02-02 13:35:11<br />
<blockquote>"The so-called anti-multiculturals in the US base their rhetoric on ethnocentrism alone which therefore very much differs from Europeans. This is the main reason why we have to separate struggles for American and European culture. I intend to stay away from American issues because of this."</blockquote><br />
<ul><li><b>He wanted to bomb Iran and possibly Saudiarabia as well</b></li>
</ul>2009-12-25 09:58:33<br />
<blockquote>"I've never understood why the West focuses so incredibly much on Iran and so little on the Wahhabi leadership in Saudi which after all is the most dangerous and powerful Muslim central power. Of course we should as soon as possible bomb their suspicious installations but otherwise focus a lot more on Saudi. Can it have something to do with Iran not being a major exporter of oil?"</blockquote><br />
<ul><li><b>He distances himself from nationalism and is in favour of a new right</b></li>
</ul>2009-12-06 13:26:53<br />
<blockquote>"Ethnocentric movements such as the BNP, National Front are NOT successful and will never be able to get over 10% support (BNP has 5%, FN has 7%). You can't fight racism (multicultural) with racism. Ethnocentrism is therefor the complete opposite of what we want to achieve.<br />
<br />
We have chosen the Vienna School of Thought as our ideological foundation. This means resistance towards multiculturalism and islamisation (on a cultural foundation). All our ideological arguments are based on anti-racism."</blockquote><br />
<ul><li><b>According to him, you're not supposed to recognise ethnicity</b></li>
</ul>2009-12-04 20:08:02<br />
<blockquote>"I've been given the impression that the younger generations in Oslo don't completely manage to see the political context here. They witness racist attacks but don't completely understand that this is Jihad (political/cultural attacks). They therefore counter what they experience as racism with racism.<br />
<br />
It's my hope that they will see the cultural/political context but you shouldn't ignore the fact that the new young generations are moving towards ethnocentrism."</blockquote><br />
<ul><li><b>He identifies with Fjordman, Robert Spencer etc.</b></li>
</ul>2009-12-03 01:21:04<br />
<blockquote>"I then felt it was more important to contribute to developing/promoting political doctrines abroad especially British, German, French, American. I ran businesses for a few years while I was studying and earned a couple of millions so that I could finance a politically active existence without means. I now use these funds to be able to work full time to further develop/promote the Vienna School (Vienna school of thought) that Fjordman, Bat Yeor, Spencer and many others have already contributed so much to."</blockquote><br />
<blockquote>"To sums up the Vienna school of thought:</blockquote><br />
<blockquote>- Cultural Conservatism (anti-multiculturalism)<br />
- Against Islamisation<br />
- Anti-racist<br />
- Anti-authoritarian (opposition against all authoritarian ideologies of hate)<br />
- Pro-Israel/defender of non-Muslim minorities in Muslim countries<br />
- Defender of the cultural aspects of Christianity<br />
- To reveal the Eurabia project and the Frankfurt School (neomarxism/cultural marxism/multiculturalism)<br />
- Doesn't take sides in economic policy issues and can therefore gather everything from socialists to capitalists"</blockquote><ul><li><b>Character isn't very important, "the enemy doesn't have any"</b></li>
</ul>2009-12-02 00:56:39<br />
<blockquote>"We were honest once, but Marx and Muhammad have forced us to be more like them, unfortunately.<br />
<br />
They had their 'Frankfurt school'. We're on the way to develop our own 'Vienna school' out of necessity.<br />
<br />
Embrace it! They've made the rules, we only follow them. ;)"</blockquote><ul><li><b>Apparently, Israel isn't a racist state</b></li>
</ul>2009-11-24 07:33:49<br />
<blockquote>"The main problem when cultural conservatives and cultural marxists debate is that the perception of reality is TOO different<br />
<br />
Many cultural marxists view Israel as a 'racist' state.<br />
<br />
Cultural conservatives are divided when they feel the conflict is based on Islamistic imperialism, that Islam is a political ideology and not a race. Cultural conservatives feel that Israel has the right to defend itself against Jihad."</blockquote><br />
<blockquote>"They can't admit these central Muslim concepts. Because if they do that then the main argument about Israel being a 'racist state' and that this isn't a race war (Israelis vs Arabs) and not defending against Jihad (Kafr vs Ummah)."</blockquote><br />
<ul><li><b>Being a friend of Israel and an anti-racist is pivotal for him</b></li>
</ul><br />
2009-09-14 11:12:20<br />
<blockquote>"Primary Doctrines:<br />
<br />
Critical of multiculturalism (Anti-cultural marxism)<br />
Anti-racist<br />
Pro FrP [Progress Party] (maybe Høyre [right party])<br />
Pro Israel (+ support for Armenia, Christian Copts / Maronite / Assyrians, culturallu conservative Indians, support for the establishment of a Christian state Biafra, Southern Nigeria and support to the establishment of a Christian state in Sudan,support for Russian / Thai / Philippines / China + battle against Jihad) "</blockquote><br />
<ul><li><b>He's gay-friendly too, apparently</b></li>
</ul>2009-09-14 10:57:20<br />
<blockquote>"Bawer is probably not the right person to do the bridge-building. He's a liberal anti-jihadist and not a cultural conservative in many areas. I've got my suspicions that he's TOO paranoid (considering his homophile inclination). It can appear as if he fears that 'cultural conservatives' might become a problem for homophiles in the future. He therefore neglects seizing the opportunity to influence these in a positive direction? This seems completely irrational."</blockquote>Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-5931743689212327562011-07-07T14:28:00.001+02:002011-07-07T14:28:32.877+02:00Petition(s) to support family rights in Sweden, against social services abuses These are two parallell petitions I wrote in Swedish and English, on the topic of family rights. <br />
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<blockquote><a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/let-our-children-go-for-a-complete-overhaul-of-swedish-family-policy"><b> Let our children go! For a complete overhaul of Swedish family policy</b></a></blockquote><br />
<blockquote>Every year, over 20,000 children are seized by child welfare in Sweden. In a country that is regarded to have come so far in its welfare development, is this really necessary? On average, more than 15,000 children reside in foster care in Sweden, or a little more than 1% of the total underage population. Why this high number?</blockquote><br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote><b> <a href="http://namninsamling.se/index.php?nid=5719">Släpp våra barn fria! För en grundläggande reform av svensk familjepolitik</a></b></blockquote><blockquote><br />
Varje år omhändertas över 20 000 barn i Sverige, eller drygt 1 på 80, av den totala omyndiga befolkningen på strax under två miljoner. I ett land som anser sig ha kommit så långt med sin välfärdsutveckling, ska detta verkligen vara nödvändigt? Medelbeläggningen i samhällsvården brukar vara strax över 15 000. Varför en så hög siffra?</blockquote>Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-60425744787209936202011-06-23T15:10:00.000+02:002011-06-23T15:10:42.876+02:00So Geert Wilders was acquitted today...Hopefully we can now stop seeing him referred to as a "martyr" in mass media, and instead bring attention to the hundreds upon hundreds of people who have been sentenced to prison for speech offences in Europe the last two decades. Some have had to serve years in prison for simply stating their opinions. It's quite ironic that instead of these actual victims of persecution, the only one that gets airtime is one who wants to actually ban religious books himself, hence not a champion of freedom of speech and religion at all.<br />
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Have a look at <a href="http://forum.danielhammarberg.com/viewforum.php?f=15">http://forum.danielhammarberg.com/viewforum.php?f=15</a> if you want to see a number of recent speech prosecutions in Europe - ones you've likely not been told about in media.<br />
<br />
5-year prison sentences for "hate speech" are not that rare in Europe today, especially not if you happen to offend Jewish organisations.Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-23487919988567659552011-05-06T12:46:00.000+02:002011-05-06T12:46:54.980+02:00State of the Swedish child welfare addressSwedish child welfare has the last couple of decades made international headlines through its dissolution of the family unit. This is a 20-minute address by Daniel Hammarberg on the state of child welfare today, covering among other things the Domenic Johansson case and the tightening grip the state has taken on home-schooling.<br />
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My website: <a href="http://www.danielhammarberg.com/">http://www.danielhammarberg.com/</a><br />
My blog: <a href="http://blog.danielhammarberg.com/">http://blog.danielhammarberg.com/</a><br />
My Youtube channel: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/HammarnUT/">http://www.youtube.com/HammarnUT/</a><br />
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Links related to this topic:<br />
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<a href="http://www.rohus.nu/">http://www.rohus.nu/</a> - The Swedish Association for Home Education<br />
<a href="http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-14019042.html">http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-14019042.html</a> - Kinder-Gulag im Sozialstaat Schweden<br />
<a href="http://www.hslda.org/">http://www.hslda.org/</a> - the HSLDA<br />
<a href="http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/">http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/</a> - the ADF<br />
<a href="http://www.freesweden.net/">http://www.freesweden.net/</a> (some of whose pictures I used in the video)<br />
<a href="http://www.nkmr.org/">http://www.nkmr.org/</a> - the Nordic Committee for Human Rights<br />
<br />
My book "The Madhouse" can be found at these online bookstores:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9197936219">http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9197936219</a><br />
<a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Madhouse/Daniel-Hammarberg/e/9789197936217">http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Madhouse/Daniel-Hammarberg/e/9789197936217</a><br />
<a href="http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=4284875788">http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=4284875788</a><br />
<a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/9197936219?&PID=32322">http://www.powells.com/biblio/9197936219?&PID=32322</a><br />
<a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9789197936217">http://www.indiebound.org/book/9789197936217</a><br />
<a href="http://www.adlibris.com/se/product.aspx?isbn=9197936219">http://www.adlibris.com/se/product.aspx?isbn=9197936219</a> (Swedish site)Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-72013465628410136762011-04-26T08:56:00.002+02:002011-04-26T09:00:06.148+02:00Servin' hard times - Tough on Crime music video inspired by Joe ArpaioThis is something I spent roughly 15 hours the last couple of days putting together from prison series and documentaries off TV along with some other material and assembled into a hopefully entertaining product.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/SQFRG3j6tHg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>The music is from the WWE Big Boss Man entrance song "Servin' hard times."<br />
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This video was made in the hopes of inspiring people to adopt a tough-on-crime stance. My home country of Sweden is awful in this regard with its by far highest cost in the world per inmate kept in the penal system, and with little result to show for it. Swedish prisons are luxurious and very comfortable to live in, they certainly don't do their job of deterring people from committing crimes. Watching documentaries on Joe Arpaio and his Tent City inspired me and showed me that there's a better way of dealing with crime than the pampering of criminals that Sweden excels at.<br />
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In 2010, the average cost per inmate kept in Swedish prison was 1,001,560 crowns per year, or about $165,000 with the current exchange rate. Source: <a href="http://www.kvv.se/sv/Statistik/Kostnader-lon-och-sysselsattning/">http://www.kvv.se/sv/Statistik/Kostnader-lon-och-sysselsattning/</a><br />
For comparison, average costs in the USA were $24,052 per inmate in 2008, and as low as $8,128 in Alabama. Source: <a href="http://nicic.gov/StateStats/Default.aspx?State=AL">http://nicic.gov/StateStats/Default.aspx?State=AL</a><br />
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Recidivism rates in the two countries are virtually the same, especially when lining up the same crime categories.<br />
In Sweden, 39% of people convicted of crimes in 2004 had been convicted again within three years. Source: <a href="http://www.bra.se/extra/measurepoint/?module_instance=4&name=aterfall_2004.pdf&url=/dynamaster/file_archive/100528/7654948e0e02ef1970cb956e25335200/aterfall%255f2004.pdf">http://www.bra.se/extra/measurepoint/?module_instance=4&name=aterfall_2004.pdf&url=/dynamaster/file_archive/100528/7654948e0e02ef1970cb956e25335200/aterfall%255f2004.pdf</a><br />
In the USA, 43.3% of people released from prison in 2004 had been reincarcerated again within three years. Source: <a href="http://community.nicic.gov/blogs/corrections_headlines/archive/2011/04/18/pew-state-by-state-study-reveals-40-recidivism-rate.aspx">http://community.nicic.gov/blogs/corrections_headlines/archive/2011/04/18/pew-state-by-state-study-reveals-40-recidivism-rate.aspx</a><br />
A study by the Grant Sawyer Center for Justice Studies found that the recidivism rate for Arizona (home of Joe Arpaio and his Tent City, both of which were featured in the video) was 24.5%. Source: <a href="http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/aug/20/study-suggests-nevada-prisons-do-pretty-good-job-p/">http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/aug/20/study-suggests-nevada-prisons-do-pretty-good-job-p/</a><br />
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The Swedish crime rate has been exploding for decades, averaging a 5% yearly increase in violent crime. Last year saw a new peak in the number of homicides with 333 reported cases, an increase by 44%. Source: www.bra.se. <br />
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For further information, see these videos of mine (though the situation is even worse in Sweden today than when they were made some two years ago):<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSAtByo6KGg">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSAtByo6KGg</a> - Sweden's correctional system<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD833nztAdw">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD833nztAdw</a> - Sweden's crime rate<br />
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Footage included under Fair Use:<br />
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National Geographic Channel: Lockdown - Tent City, Arizona<br />
National Geographic Channel: Aryan Brotherhood<br />
America's Toughest Prisons, season 1, episode 1, 5 and 6<br />
Inside Alaska's toughest prison part 3<br />
20th Century Fox Television: Prison Break, season 1<br />
HBO: Oz, seasons 1 and 2Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-27644766317420042132011-03-16T13:09:00.000+01:002011-03-16T13:09:53.180+01:00Socialism: in the past it was the means of production; today it's the childrenEver since Karl Marx penned his ideas about the gains that could be made by centralising the means of production some one and a half centuries ago, many a mind have gone to great lengths attempting to prove him right. His ideas saw their first application during the industrialisation of the Soviet Union in the 1930's, when private ownership of farms and factories was rapidly being dismantled through forced collectivisation. The political leadership had set as its goal transforming the giant agricultural economy into a modern industrial state in the shortest possible time. The number one priority was establishing a strong factory base that would be able to sustain a strong military and catapult the Soviet Union into the superpower status that was required to conquer the planet for Communism.<br />
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Well, truth be told, Russia did experience very strong economic growth during the 1930's, as a consequence of this state control of the economy. Though I'm not enough of a history buff myself to determine just which figures are accurate, the Soviet GDP grew at a rate of between 5% and 15% a year, although starting in the late 20's from a level that was far behind Western economies. To achieve this goal, millions upon millions of people saw themselves becoming serfs, however, and millions more would die in state gulags or be outright executed; such was the respect shown for liberty and human rights when the state leadership had set a goal to achieve.<br />
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The Western world had long since been industrialised, hence the Soviets had at their disposal the technology required for the transformation, as well as the empiric knowledge gained through the process. Industrialisation had naturally meant great hardships for the workers, who responded by organising both strikes as well as forming political parties calling for better working and living conditions. Stalin wouldn't let any protests of that sort interfere with his plans, but instead had a brutal police force called the Cheka established to enforce his will upon his nation. So with the blueprints from Western industrialisation, Stalin was able to make the desired transformation of his country, although with millions of people perishing in the process.<br />
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So, what does this have to do with the world we live in today? I'm sad to say that even though socialism in Marx' meaning and the abolishment of private property is completely dead, socialism has taken on a new form. While the likes of Marx and Stalin aren't able to outright confiscate the means of production the way they used to, they have however learned how to confiscate the fruits of reproduction - the children. In most of the Western world, there's been a slow but gradual shift away from the role of the nuclear family in raising children, a role that's being replaced by public day-care and public school; in Sweden, the process started as early as in the 1920's and reached its zenith in the 70's, when it was linked to women's liberation and hailed as a breakthrough for equal rights.<br />
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One can't but help to notice a parallell in these two phenomena. In the past, the Soviets and other Communist governments seized private property as they required it for their political aims; today Sweden and other countries don't respect the rights of parents to raise their own children since it wants to subject them to its own ideals, rearing methods and values. The stated vision is a society where one has cured all social ills by removing all potential risk factors during a person's childhood - social workers are there to monitor and supervise families so that their offspring grow up to be the sort of members of society the government desires, in a style true to the worst fears of Aldous Huxley. <br />
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To quote chapter 5 of the Swedish Social Services Act, the section on minors:<br />
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<blockquote>"The social council shall<br />
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- in close cooperation with the homes encourage a versatile development of personality and a favourable physical and social development of children and youth."</blockquote><br />
When you add into the equation the fact that under Swedish law, parents are prohibited from both spanking and grounding their children, while the social workers without much in the way of legal complications can seize these same children, you realise that the state has indeed positioned itself as the primary guardian, even though this SS act is touted as being for the protection of the children. Or, to put it in simple terms: The state has socialized the children.<br />
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In Swedish day-care and schools (they're all bound by the same curriculum, and homeschooling is pretty much illegal), children are taught quite a radical perspective on life and the world, one their parents often don't agree with very much. For example, recently international news were made when a class of eight-graders were forced to write essays where they described their sexual fantasies, an assignment that isn't too uncommon in today's Sweden. See <a href="http://www.thelocal.se/31916/20110208/">here</a> for the story. Some two or three years ago at the high school Strömbackaskolan, male high school students were forced to write gay love letters which were later published in a book. The school law doesn't allow you to opt out of such activities.<br />
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With the high Swedish taxes, both parents are often forced to work full-time jobs to make ends meet, which usually leaves most of the parenting in the hands of the state; roughly 90% of children spend their first couple of years in public day-care. And for the socioeconomically disadvantaged families that don't have jobs, their children are quite often outright taken into foster care. A research study quoted in other blog posts of mine found that one in seven of what one could call "welfare mothers" had their children taken into foster care before they were seven years old. Hence it's virtually impossible keeping the state away from your children here in Sweden, whether you're gainfully employed or not.<br />
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Naturally, to justify this intrusion into family life, the government presents studies supposedly showing the gains that have been made in communities where the state has taken an active role in this area. Just like the gains made by the Soviet state during the 30's, the gains here are also of one kind: they're generally from disadvantaged American minority communities with immense social problems inherent in the families studied. It's easy to come out ahead if you compare yourself to the born losers. The same sort of gains can't be made in well-established families, however. Pointing to the actual data would be too major an undertaking for this article, but more and more studies are appearing which show that children become less psychologically healthy the earlier they leave their own home and enter day-care. Home-schooling, which for a long time has been on the rise in the USA and is still gaining ground, is also an area where ordinary parents have proven to be better teachers than the public school system; so much for socialism in this area.<br />
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The stagnation that the Soviet Union later experienced in its economy, falling far behind the Western world, is obviously parallelled in state child welfare as well. Just as the Soviet state failed when it tried to direct what was going to be produced and who was going to produce it, the modern welfare state also fails when it attempts to set goals for family life and take custody away from parents. The children deprived of their biological connections are the real victims. For examples of human rights abuses within Swedish child "welfare," see the <a href="http://friendsofdomenic.blogspot.com/">Friends of Domenic blog</a> and the <a href="http://www.nkmr.org/english/index.htm">Nordic Committee for Human Rights website</a>. Every year, more and more alarming reports come out about the state of mental health of Swedish youth, suspiciously following the centralisation of child-rearing and schooling they got the first taste of. The state is not a good parent.<br />
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Please let the children of today be spared being forced into your human kolkhozes.Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-22889381543184036672011-02-19T17:09:00.000+01:002011-02-19T17:09:43.940+01:00A brief guide to Swedish child welfareSwedish child welfare is often said to be for the children's sake, often they refer to "the best interests of the child," yet quite often it doesn't work that way, but rather becomes a business enterprise instead. This article is meant as a fact sheet for whoever is interested in the darker side of Swedish child welfare.<br />
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The aims for the Swedish child welfare are detailed in <i>Socialtjänstlagen</i> (2001:453), abbreviated SoL in Swedish; its official English name is the Social Services Act, abbreviated SSA. In article 5, paragraph 1, this is stated:<br />
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<blockquote>"The social council shall <br />
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- work for children and youth to grow up under safe and good terms,<br />
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- in close cooperation with the homes see to it that children and youth who risk developing unfavourably receive the protection and support they need and, if the concern for the best interests of the minor justifies it, care and fosterage outside one's own home"</blockquote><br />
Care outside one's own home takes place either in <i>familjehem</i>, which directly translates into "family homes," and is how one refers to foster families today; or in <i>HVB-hem</i>, "homes for care and living," which are the modern orphanages and are run by staff. If things go really bad, you can be placed at an <i>ungdomshem</i>, "youth home," after the social services feels you've not been behaving properly at an orphanage. These are prisons, sometimes surrounded by barbed wire, but in spite of this, you don't have to commit a crime to be placed there.<br />
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Even though it's the social council that plans the proposed care, it's intended to be voluntary, in accordance with the Social Services Act. If a voluntary placement can't be arranged, the child or his or her parents just don't understand what's in the "best interests of the child," the authorities can resort to using <i>Lag (1990:52) med särskilda bestämmelser om vård av unga, LVU</i>, or as is its official English name: Care of Young Persons Special Provisions Act, or CYPA for short, the law on forced care for minors. Paragraphs of significance here are the environment paragraph, § 2, which enables care placement due to "physical or mental abuse, improper exploitation, lack in care or any other condition in the home." This paragraph is used if the social council can spot some form of weakness in the family structure or in the people that otherwise reside in the home.<br />
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§ 3, the behaviour paragraph, lets the social council take a minor below the age of 20 into care due to "abuse of addictive drugs, criminal activity or any other socially destructive behaviour." A study from the late 90's found that the diffuse term "socially destructive behaviour" was the one used the most to justify care placements. Hence in Sweden, you don't have to commit a crime to be deprived of your liberty, it's enough that you act in a way that a social worker finds strange.<br />
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§ 6, immediate seizure; this paragraph lets a single social worker without presenting any written warrant or anything of the sort call the police and demand that they take a person into care. The law prescribes that an administrative court is to try the care placement within a week, but this isn't very adhered to.<br />
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§ 12, special youth homes. "For care of minors who due to some reason stated in § 3 need to be under especially careful supervision, there shall be special youth homes." Notice the lack of any requirement to have committed a crime.<br />
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§ 14 gives the social services the right to hide a child from its parents and not let them know where the child has been placed.<br />
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§ 22, preventive measures. This paragraph enables "medium force," open measures that the minor can be forced to attend if it's felt that he or she might at a later stage otherwise fall under the criteria of § 3.<br />
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§ 24, removal prohibition. If you've agreed to voluntary care, the social services can extend the care forever, until you reach the age where you can't be taken into care any more.<br />
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In Swedish child welfare and social care aimed at preventing crime, actual breaches of the law and actual guilt don't matter very much, rather one discusses various forms of personal "problems," which can include such things as depression and self-injurious behaviour. Even a long history of violent crime is rather described as "behavioural problems" to be treated than as the wilful acts of this individual. Sweden has abandoned the old moralistic perspective which all societies have otherwise adhered to, and become a therapeutic state where everything is to be corrected through care, whether someone has done something in the past or could potentially do something in the future. Naturally you end up having to do a lot of treatment since people then have nothing to gain from taking responsibility for their lives - this has no impact on whether they're taken in for "care" or not.<br />
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In practice, this means that one doesn't apply any form of "differentiation," to use a professional term, apart from the division between LVU and LSU (the law on secure youth care; these placements have to be determined by a court of law). At the youth homes, there are certainly different rooms for LVU and LSU placements, but they still reside under the same roof and are subject to the same care. So a self-destructing teenager "guilty" of perhaps truancy or self-injury can be placed with rapists and killers. Eddie Jönsson, a 17-year-old man who in January of 2004 along with his friend clubbed two 18-year-old girls to death, what's usually referred to as <i>dubbelmordet på Hallandsåsen</i>, the double-murder at Hallandsåsen, was sentenced to secure youth care and placed at a youth home which he ended up running away from.<br />
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There are however quite a few who are placed at these youth homes without having done anything to deserve it. In <a href="http://www.stat-inst.se/publikationer/ovriga-rapporter/vard-av-ungdomar-med-sociala-problem-en-forskningsoversikt/">Vård av ungdomar med sociala problem – en forskningsöversikt</a>, "Care of youth with social problems - a research overview," a study is presented of 749 juveniles who had been taken into various youth homes in the Stockholm area during the earlier 90's. The researcher had divided the inmates into different categories - the crime profile, the substance abuse profile, the mental illness profile, the sexual problems profile as well as something he called "profile group 0." Characteristic of this last group was that in spite of constituting more than a third of the population (255 out of 749), they hadn't displayed worse behavioural problems than the general public. They had been placed with labels such as "emotional disorder," "learning and school problems" and similar. The reason they had been placed there was mostly the social status of their parents - these were often former prison inmates and such. Even though these people so far had managed to get their children to behave, society took for granted that they would follow in the footsteps of their parents and didn't give them any chance whatsoever.<br />
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Other research of interest is the one made by Bo Vinnerlung at the National Board of Health and Welfare. Of particular value is an essay he published in English, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2007.00527.x/abstract">Into adulthood: a follow-up study of 718 young people who were placed in out-of-home care during their teens</a>, where among other things he shows that 6% of Swedish minors, or roughly two in every school class, were reported to the social services every year. The surveillance state is well outfitted here in Sweden. On page eight, statistics are presented which show that for the ones who were placed for behavioural problems, only 8.2% had done well as adults with the criteria used there, compared to 70% of the general public. Among those who had been placed at youth homes under the LSU law, 70% had ended up in prison or had died by the age of 25, and not a single person was doing well. The country's preventive social care apparently works very well.<br />
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In <a href="http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/sosfs/1997-15">SOSFS 1997:15, on the application of the LVU law</a>, one lists the reasons under which children and youth can be taken into care. Here one includes that the parents might be arguing, that a parent tells his or her child that he or she will be allowed to return home from voluntary care, that the family might move abroad, that a minor is using steroids, that one uses spanking as a way of raising one's children and lots of other stuff. It's simply the devil's manual to every possible reason for taking someone into custody.<br />
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Something else to be addressed is just what hides behind the so called "environmental" reasons for care placements. Is it really abuse, or is it simply that the family is poor? In <a href="http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/publikationer2006/2006-111-1">Social rapport 2006</a>, on page 273, there's a comparison between two different groups of families. In affluent families, only one out of 2,000 children were taken into foster care before seven years of age, while the corresponding figure for what one could call "welfare mothers" was one in seven.<br />
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If you enjoyed this article, you'll surely enjoy my book "The Madhouse: A critical study of Swedish society." Go <a href="http://www.danielhammarberg.com/madhouse%20-%20hub.htm">here</a> for the book hub page on my web page, or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Madhouse-critical-study-Swedish-society/dp/9197936219/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1">here</a> for the Amazon page, where it's available both in print and in electronic format.<br />
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Also see this video clip I made about Swedish child welfare: <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/hAv1dfIrDHc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-36565804340312405432011-02-09T11:41:00.000+01:002011-02-09T11:41:29.873+01:00Kortfattad guide till svensk samhällsvårdSvensk samhällsvård sägs vara för barnens skull, ofta hänvisar man till "barnens bästa", men i praktiken fungerar det inte så, utan det blir ofta snarare en affärsverksamhet. Denna artikel är menad som en faktasamling för den som är intresserad av baksidan av svensk samhällsvård.<br />
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Med anledning av att svensk samhällsvård omnämndes i <a href="http://www.friatider.se/expert-barn-fosterhemsplaceras-for-vinstintressen">denna artikel</a> tog jag mig för att skriva denna sammanfattning. <br />
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Målen för svensk barnavård redogörs för i Socialtjänstlagen (2001:453), och kapitel 5, paragraf 1, har detta att säga:<br />
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<blockquote>"Socialnämnden skall <br />
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- verka för att barn och ungdom växer upp under trygga och goda förhållanden,"<br />
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"- i nära samarbete med hemmen sörja för att barn och ungdom som riskerar att utvecklas ogynnsamt får det skydd och stöd som de behöver och, om hänsynen till den unges bästa motiverar det, vård och fostran utanför det egna hemmet,"</blockquote><br />
Vård utanför det egna hemmet sker antingen i <i>familjehem</i>, vilket är vad fosterfamiljer kallas i dag, eller <i>behandlingshem/HVB-hem</i>, vilka är de moderna barnhemmen och drivs av personal. Vill det sig riktigt illa kan man placeras på <i>ungdomshem</i> efter att socialtjänsten anser att man misskött sig på behandlingshem. Dessa är fängelser, ibland omgärdas de av taggtråd, men trots detta behöver man inte ha begått något brott för att hamna där. <br />
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Även fast det är socialnämnden som planlägger den tilltänkta vården, så är målet att den ska vara frivillig, i enlighet med Socialtjänstlagen. Går det inte att få till stånd en frivillig placering, barnet eller föräldrarna förstår helt enkelt inte "barnets bästa", så kan man ta till <i>Lag (1990:52) med särskilda bestämmelser om vård av unga</i>, lagen om tvångsvård av unga. Paragrafer av betydelse här är miljöparagrafen, § 2, vilken möjliggör vård på grund av "fysisk eller psykisk misshandel, otillbörligt utnyttjande, brister i omsorgen eller något annat förhållande i hemmet". Denna paragraf används om socialnämnden kan se någon svaghet i familjestrukturen eller de personer som annars vistas i hemmet.<br />
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§ 3, beteendeparagrafen, låter socialnämnden ta in en ungdom för vård på grund av "missbruk av beroendeframkallande medel, brottslig verksamhet eller något annat socialt nedbrytande beteende". En studie från slutet av 90-talet fann att den diffusa termen "socialt nedbrytande beteende" var den som användes mest för att motivera vårdplaceringar. I Sverige behöver man alltså inte begå brott för att bli frihetsberövad, det räcker att man beter sig på ett sätt som en socialsekreterare upplever som konstigt.<br />
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§ 6, omedelbart omhändertagande; denna paragraf låter en enda socialsekreterare utan att behöva komma med skriftlig motivering ringa polisen och kräva att de tar in en person för vård. Lagen föreskriver att en förvaltningsdomstol ska pröva vården inom en vecka, men detta efterlevs dåligt.<br />
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§ 12, särskilda ungdomshem. "För vård av unga som på någon grund som anges i 3 § behöver stå under särskilt noggrann tillsyn skall det finnas särskilda ungdomshem." Märk väl, inget krav på begånget brott.<br />
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§ 14 ger socialtjänsten rätten att gömma ett barn från dess föräldrar och inte låta dem veta var barnet är placerat.<br />
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§ 22, förebyggande insatser. Denna paragraf möjliggör "mellantvång", öppna insatser den unge kan tvingas gå med på om det kan anses att han eller hon annars i ett senare skeende skulle kunna falla under § 3.<br />
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§ 24, flyttningsförbud. Har man gått med på frivillig vård kan socialtjänsten ofta förlänga vården i all evighet, ända tills man når den ålder då man inte längre kan tas in för vård.<br />
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I svensk samhällsvård och förebyggande kriminalvård spelar inte faktiska lagbrott och faktisk skuld någon större roll, man talar snarare om olika sorters "problematik", vilken även kan vara sådant som depression och självskadebeteende. Även en lång historia av våldsbrottslighet beskrivs snarare som "problematik" att vårdas än som en persons medvetna gärningar. Sverige har övergivit det moralistiska synsätt som alla samhällen annars har haft, och blivit en terapeutisk stat där alla ska vårdas till rätta, vare sig de gjort något tidigare eller kan tänkas göra något i framtiden. Naturligtvis blir det mycket att vårda då eftersom man inte har något att vinna på att ta ansvar för sitt liv - detta har ingen betydelse för huruvida man tas in för "vård".<br />
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I praktiken innebär detta att man inte tillämpar någon "differentiering", för att använda fackspråk, annat än uppdelningen mellan LVU och LSU (<i>Lag om Sluten Ungdomsvård</i>, vilket måste utdömas av allmän domstol). På ungdomshemmen är det visserligen olika sorters rum för LVU- och LSU-placeringar, men de vistas ändå under samma tak och är föremål för samma vård. Så en tonåring på glid med kanske skolk och självskadebeteende kan placeras med våldtäktsmän och mördare. Eddie Jönsson som i januari 2004 tillsammans med sin kompis slog ihjäl två 18-åriga flickor, det som brukar benämnas dubbelmordet på Hallandsåsen, dömdes till sluten ungdomsvård och placerades på ungdomshem som han senare rymde ifrån. <br />
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Det finns dock många som placeras på dessa ungdomshem utan att egentligen ha gjort något för att förtjäna det. I <a href="http://www.stat-inst.se/publikationer/ovriga-rapporter/vard-av-ungdomar-med-sociala-problem-en-forskningsoversikt/"><i>Vård av ungdomar med sociala problem – en forskningsöversikt</i></a> redogörs för en analys av 749 ungdomar som tagits in på ungdomshem runt Stockholm i början av 90-talet. Forskaren hade delat in de intagna i olika kategorier - brottsprofilen, missbruksprofilen, psykiska problemprofilen och sexuella problemprofilen, samt något han kallade "profilgrupp 0". Kännetecknande för de sistnämnda var att de trots att de utgjorde fler än en tredjedel av populationen (255 av 749) egentligen inte hade haft fler beteendeproblem än normalpopulationen. De hade placerats med etiketter som "emotionell störning", "inlärnings- och skolproblem" och dylikt. Svaret till varför de placerats där ligger främst i deras föräldrars status - dessa var ofta tidigare fängelsekunder och dylikt. Även fast dessa hade fått sina barn att hittills sköta sig, så tog samhället för givet att de skulle följa i sina föräldrars fotspår och gav dem inte någon chans överhuvudtaget.<br />
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Annan forskning av intresse är den som gjorts av Bo Vinnerljung. Av särskilt värde är den engelskpublicerade avhandlingen <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2007.00527.x/abstract"><i>Into adulthood: a follow-up study of 718 young people who were placed in out-of-home care during their teens</i></a>, där han bland annat visar att 6% av Sveriges ungdomar eller drygt två i varje klass rapporteras till socialtjänsten varenda år. Förmyndarsamhället är väl utbyggt här i Sverige. På sida åtta redovisas statistik som visar att bland de som placerats för beteendeproblematik hade endast 8,2% klarat sig bra som vuxna med de kriterier som angivits där, jämfört med 70% av normalpopulationen. Bland de som placerats på ungdomshem med stöd av LSU hade 70% hamnat i fängelse eller dött vid 25 års ålder, och inte en enda person hade klarat sig bra. Den förebyggande sociala verksamheten fungerar uppenbarligen mycket bra.<br />
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I SOSFS 1997:15, <a href="http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/sosfs/1997-15"><i>Tillämpningen av lagen (1990:52) med särskilda bestämmelser om vård av unga</i></a> redogör man för de grunder under vilka barn eller ungdomar kan tas in för vård. Här räknar man upp att föräldrarna kanske bråkar, att en förälder säger att barnet ska få komma hem från frivillig vård, att familjen kan få för sig att flytta utomlands, att en ungdom använder steroider, att man använder aga som del av uppfostran och mycket annat. Det är helt enkelt ett djävulens verk där man tänkt ut alla möjliga skäl under vilka man skulle kunna omhänderta någon.<br />
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Något annat som bör nämnas är just vad som ligger bakom "miljöskälen" för vård. Är det verkligen vanvård, eller helt enkelt att familjen är fattig? I <a href="http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/publikationer2006/2006-111-1"><i>Social rapport 2006</i></a> görs på sida 273 en jämförelse mellan två olika populationer. I välbärgade familjer togs bara en av 2'000 barn in i samhällsvård före sju års ålder, medan motsvarande siffra för vad man skulle kunna kalla "socialbidragsmödrar" var en av sju.<br />
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Så var det dags för kostnader. Mediankostnaden för placering på HVB-hem är drygt 4'000 kr per person och dygn. <a href="http://www.google.se/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.socialstyrelsen.se%2FLists%2FArtikelkatalog%2FAttachments%2F17719%2F2009-9-5tabell15.xls&ei=DW1STcL0NcXrsgaJ7u3ZBg&usg=AFQjCNFNWzNnDJ8v3ztheCMFNrRCNyMx8g">Se denna artikel</a> eller annan statistik på Socialstyrelsens hemsida. För ungdomshemmen är placeringarna ännu dyrare. I <a href="http://www.stat-inst.se/documents/arsredovisningar/sis-arsredovisning-2009.pdf">SiS årsredovisning 2009</a> kan man på sida 41 läsa att genomsnittlig kostnad per person och dag är 6710 kr för den vanliga ungdomsvården, och på sida 42 att samma siffra för sluten ungdomsvård är 7953 kr. En fattigpensionär får lika mycket på en månad som denna verksamhet kostar per dag.<br />
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Uppskattade du denna artikel så kommer du säkerligen också uppskatta min bok Dårhuset som snart kommer ut på svenska, vilken för närvarande endast är utgiven på engelska. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/9197936219/">The Madhouse: A critical study of Swedish society</a><br />
<br />
Se också denna videosnutt jag gjorde om svensk samhällsvård: <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/hAv1dfIrDHc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-57469873709974832082011-02-06T22:12:00.001+01:002011-02-06T22:15:19.194+01:00Thoughts on the abortion issue by a person raised in a secular society and householdThe other day I contemplated the abortion issue and how much a difference in perspective there exists on this topic within the Western world. On the one hand there's my country of Sweden, with its extremely liberal philosophy; abortion is here considered a natural right for the pregnant woman, and within the political establishment, the support for this way of viewing it is unanimous.<br />
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On the other hand, there are parts of America, mainly the south, where abortion is considered murder, and activists often picket clinics in protest. After American abortionist George Tiller was murdered by an activist during the summer of 2009, the Swedish state TV covered the anti-abortion movement. <a href="http://svt.se/2.22584/1.1647631/striden_om_abortratten_trappas_upp">http://svt.se/2.22584/1.1647631/striden_om_abortratten_trappas_upp</a><br />
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The 6.5-minute long clip was very one-sided and filled with almost absurd allegations about the motives of the activists. To quote SVT reporter Eva Elmsäter:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>"The American abortion right is no matter-of-course. Lately the opponents have escalated their strikes all across the country."<br />
"Lately the opponents, the religious right have escalated their strikes. They do everything they can to shut down clinics or scare away the women."</blockquote><br />
This reporter insinuates that the activists have ulterior motives instead of the state protection of human life:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>"McMillan feels among other things that the abortions are a conspiracy against the black race. But in a state where the Ku Klux Klan isn't distant history it's hard to take the concern of the white abortion opponents about the black girls fully seriously. It rather hints at a veiled form of racism, but this is something McMillan denies. In Jackson, Mississippi, the Baptist church dominates people's lives and the young are exhorted to live in abstinence. The state of Mississippi states that it has fewer abortions than other states - the result is more teenage mums who are forced to live in poverty and squalor."</blockquote><br />
Ignoring for a moment that the reporter accuses anti-abortion activists of being racists and associates them with the KKK, let's consider the dominant Swedish perspective briefly. Swedish political philosophy puts little value on god-given individual rights, but is rather more utilitarian - that is, concerned with the greater good and maximizing the positive outcome of something to the largest number of people. In practice this means bestowing power on the ones with a voice, who can speak for themselves; and paying little heed to those whose life or liberty has to be sacrificed for the greater good.<br />
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Man's survival has always depended on continued procreation, and until recent times, there have been few options for people who want to avoid bringing children into the world. The cycle of life always went on uninterrupted for most of man's history. Yet today with contraceptives, birth control pills and abortions, technology has provided man with tools to discard of unwanted life. In materialistic and utilitarian Sweden, this has resulted in a philosophy where the mother is simply meant to ask herself the question: "Does she really want her baby?" With this perspective, the pregnancies of these young American women is a nuisance that will deprive them of the life they would otherwise have. And in what appears to be some form of twisted class war analysis, the protesters at clinics are considered to want to force the black women to remain in poverty by burdening them with children. I wonder if in her mind, the protesters are really so depraved as to want to not only torment their victims, but also pay added taxes to support these children?<br />
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I believe this allegation of racism on the part of reporter Elmsäter might be a result of her lacking some common sense, however, and shouldn't have us distracted from the analyzing the utilitarian perspective. If you don't recognize any god-given natural rights and measure the morality of something by how many people with voices to speak benefit from them, it wouldn't make much sense prohibiting abortions. Abortion supporters often argue that women who are bogged down with children at an early age rarely get a career going, and they're probably right. The collective benefit in letting women discard of unwanted pregnancies is the ability to not have your intended career taken away from you just because you became pregnant; the fetuses don't have a voice on the other hand.<br />
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Yet, there is this thing called the slippery slope. This concept, familiar to most readers, argues that if society isn't rooted in firm principles, then down the line man's actions or legislation will transform into something he today would not accept yet would at this later time. What gives the women having abortions the power over the fetuses is that they're dependent on the woman, and quite often this distinct human being is considered a part of her body, with which she can do as she pleases. If the dependency of the fetus is what grants the mother the right to terminate its life at will, doesn't the same thing apply to society and welfare recipients? They're both dependents. How can you argue that it should be acceptable for women to terminate pregnancies, yet that it wouldn't be for society to terminate the life of welfare recipients? Indeed, it shouldn't surprise anyone that Sweden, which today is so liberal when it comes to abortion, also made it a requirement to be sterilized during much of the 20th century in order to get welfare benefits.<br />
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Just how is the sort of dependency on its host organism determined? How do you differentiate between the life of the host organism and its dependent? The first couple of months after delivery, a toddler is absolutely dependent on his or her mother for physical and psychological nurturing. If dependency is the criterion, wouldn't infanticide be as acceptable as abortion? Naturally, another woman could take the mother's place after delivery, but the same is true before delivery as well, due to breakthroughs in medical technology. A fetus can be brought out of the womb through C-section and put in life support facilities which take the place of the mother's womb. Hence, if the support for the "right" to abortions is based on the dependency of the fetus on the womb, that doesn't hold up for some of abortions taking place these days.<br />
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In the Swedish Abortion act, the right for a woman to unconditionally abort a fetus is defined in §1, and §4 along with §10 make it a crime for a physician to refuse to perform abortions. Late-term abortions are available with special permission until the point where the fetus is considered to be fully viable for a live birth. As I understand it, the ultimate legal limit for this practice is around the 30th week. The other year, a Swedish woman terminated two pregnancies in a row after determining the gender of the fetus, since she wanted a son instead of another daughter, something she had two of already. The physicians that had to service her protested to the authorities and asked if they really had to fulfill these requests, yet were told they can't opt out of gender abortions. <br />
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In Western countries today, fetuses are sometimes legally aborted as late as into the 25th week of pregnancy. Yet a number of successful deliveries have taken place before that time. The shortest pregnancy on record is 21 weeks and 6 days for now, see <a href="http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/CTVNewsAt11/20070220/baby_premature_070219/">http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/CTVNewsAt11/20070220/baby_premature_070219/</a> for this story. How can abortions be allowed on fetuses that could quite possibly grow up to be fully functional human beings even if delivered that very instant? If medical technology advances to the point where life support can take over from the mother's womb already during the 18th week, will the Swedish Abortion Act then change? Somehow I doubt it. Knowing Swedish media, in spite of the good coverage most technological breakthroughs get, these news wouldn't make it out of hospitals. All is not well with early births though, of course. Quite often these individuals contract cerebral palsy or other birth defects, when delivered with present-day technology. But theoretically, it's only a matter of time until this problem is solved. <br />
<br />
The state of the debate in Sweden is absurd. You can hardly suggest that physicians should have the right to refuse to perform abortions without having your life endangered. I can't personally ever recall anyone saying in public that the right to terminate pregnancies should be abolished. Something tells me that whoever argues for this in public will suffer "abortion" attempts on his or her life.<br />
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Leaving behind the utilitarian reasoning, there are also metaphysical considerations to make for abortions. If you presume the human consciousness resides in an immaterial soul created by God, it would be very interesting to learn just when these souls enter a human body. What does it mean for this soul when a fetus is aborted? Does this mean that a soul that was about to be granted human life will never be allowed to exist? Naturally there's no answering this, but it's food for thought when considering this issue.<br />
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The equivalent of five book pages of philosophizing, I guess this post is done now.Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-324296374154281882011-02-05T15:23:00.001+01:002011-02-05T21:13:58.262+01:00If same-sex marriages, why not bovine marriages too?This is a comedy skit I made the other day, available in both English and Swedish.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><b><span style="font-size: large;">Horny Harry and Candy the cow</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">a struggle for equal rights</span><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y457uld2Qig?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Once upon a time there was a man named Horny Harry.<br />
For a long time he's kept a secret to himself.<br />
He never thought he'd tell anyone else about it, until last year when Sweden had its first lesbian bishop.<br />
Then it occurred to him that society maybe for once would accept him the way he is, and let him walk the town with his loved one.<br />
He's known her ever since she was a little calf.<br />
When Harry was 20 years old, the heifer Emma had a litter of kids.<br />
Now he's 30 and has had a sexual relationship with her since three years back.<br />
Horny Harry always took for granted that the day would never come when he would be able to show himself in public with Candy.<br />
Now he dreams of a magnificent wedding with his beloved cow.<br />
He's going to receive lots of guests at his farm and let everyone join in on the happy marriage.<br />
It's not possible just yet of course, there are horrible people out there who still today feel he's a sick man.<br />
Horny Harry won't let them stop him, however. He's going to walk up to the Swedish parliament on his own and hand over a bill that he's written.<br />
When he's made bovine marriages legal, he'll make sure no one claims that these marriages are any less natural than the ones between a man and a woman.<br />
When he's done with that, he's going to make sure that all the children in their schools get to learn everything about sexuality between man and cow, so he won't have to face anyone who thinks it's abnormal.<br />
Horny Harry knows that at least 5% of the population would rather be in a couple relationship with cattle than with another person.<br />
As a certain politician once said, "it's not against nature, it's just less common."<br />
Horny Harry dreams about a Sweden where everyone's accepted the way they are, whether their love is for the opposite sex, their own, children, cows, horses, bears or any other mammal.<br />
When he's done, all of his friends will be able to marry their loved ones.<br />
Badger Barry, Mike and his mare, Fox Freddy, Peter and his piglet, as well as Elephant Eddie.<br />
In 21st century Sweden, there's a place for everyone.<br />
<br />
And the Swedish version:<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Pilske Per och kossan Pia</span></b><br />
en kamp för lika rätt<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/7bChQ89qd3Y?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Det var en gång en man som hette Pilske Per. <br />
Sedan länge har han gått och burit på en hemlighet. <br />
Han trodde aldrig han skulle kunna berätta om den för någon annan, tills förra året då Sverige fick sin första lesbiska biskop.<br />
Då slog det honom att samhället kanske för en gångs skull kunde acceptera honom som han är, och låta honom gå på stan med sin älskade <br />
Han har känt henne ända sedan hon var en liten kalv. <br />
När Per var 20 år gammal fick kvigan Emma en kull ungar. <br />
Nu är han 30 och har haft en sexuell relation med henne sedan tre år tillbaks. <br />
Pilske Per tog alltid för givet att den dagen aldrig skulle komma då han kunde visa sig offentligt med Pia. <br />
Nu drömmer han däremot om ett storslaget giftermål med sin kära kossa. <br />
Han tänkte ta emot en massa gäster på sin bondgård och låta alla få ta del av det lyckliga äktenskapet. <br />
Fast än är det inte möjligt förstås, det finns hemska människor där ute som fortfarande i dag tycker att han är sjuk.<br />
Pilske Per ska dock inte låta dem stoppa honom. Han ska själv vandra upp till Sveriges riksdag och överlämna en motion han skrivit.<br />
När han fått äktenskap med nötkreatur lagliga ska han se till att ingen påstår att dessa äktenskap är mindre naturliga än de mellan man och kvinna. <br />
När han är klar med det ska han se till att alla barn i skolan får lära sig allt om sexualitet mellan människa och kossa, så att han inte behöver möta någon som tycker det är onormalt. <br />
Pilske Per vet att minst 5% av befolkningen hellre vill leva i parrelation med nötkreatur än med en annan människa.<br />
Som en viss politiker en gång sa, "det är inte onaturligt, det är bara mindre vanligt".<br />
Pilske Per drömmer om ett Sverige där alla accepteras som de är, vare sig deras kärlek är till det motsatta könet, det egna, barn, kossor, hästar, björnar eller något annat däggdjur.<br />
När han är klar så kommer alla hans kompisar också de kunna gifta sig med sina kära.<br />
Grävlings-Arne, Micke med märren, räv-Magnus, Berra med kultingen och elefant-Pelle.<br />
I 2000-talets Sverige har vi alla en plats.<br />
<br />
...from Sweden with love.Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-19669043897988209082011-01-25T16:25:00.001+01:002011-01-25T16:25:16.478+01:00New website upThe new website for my book publishing efforts is now up at <a href="http://www.danielhammarberg.com/">www.danielhammarberg.com</a>, with purchase links for my book "The Madhouse".<br />
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Also see the press release sent out today at <a href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/01/prweb4995474.htm">http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/01/prweb4995474.htm</a>.Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-269433213017268932011-01-16T12:58:00.000+01:002011-01-16T12:58:11.641+01:00"The Madhouse" now out in print!The book "The Madhouse: A critical study of Swedish society" can now be bought in print as well, and will soon start appearing in bookstores. It will be listed on Amazon in a couple of days, but it can be bought directly on their site already at <a href="https://www.createspace.com/3530396">https://www.createspace.com/3530396</a> . A page link has been added to the top of this blog.<br />
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http://danielhammarberg.blogspot.com/p/madhouse-critical-study-of-swedish.html is the book page, but in a matter of days, a regular website will be added for my publishing venture, which will act as a hub for everything about my book.<br />
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For now, see this video clip of me introducing the book:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/OzGj2cWzFd4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-47490434744725679012011-01-13T22:02:00.000+01:002011-01-13T22:02:44.861+01:00How to deal with a liberal parent, in ten steps<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/9R8uGzKem0M?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-42819678723688295472010-12-20T17:28:00.005+01:002010-12-21T19:46:28.316+01:00Dominic Johansson's father on trial todayToday Gotland district court held its main proceedings against Christer Johansson, who's charged with kidnapping or possibly unlawful deprivation of liberty.<br />
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The story from Gotlands tidningar, translated by me:<br />
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<blockquote>"Dad on trial for kidnapping<br />
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- I only wanted to see my son. That's how the man in his 40's explained it who was today on trial for illegally having abducted his son placed into foster care.<br />
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It was last November, when the man was meant to have had a supervised meeting with his son, that he pulled his son into his car and drove away. For a couple of days he kept his son with him before the police could arrest him.<br />
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Today the main proceedings took place at Gotland district court. The prosecution against the man was charged as kidnapping, or possibly unlawful deprivation of liberty.<br />
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The man explained his actions with having to see his son, but he doesn't feel he's committed any crime.<br />
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The court considers it proven that he's committed the acts he's been indicted for, but before a sentence and sanction is delivered, he's to go through a major investigation by forensic psychiatry.<br />
<br />
Hence the main proceedings won't end for another four weeks. Until then the man remains in jail."</blockquote><a href="http://www.helagotland.se/nyheter/artikel.aspx?articleid=6523999">http://www.helagotland.se/nyheter/artikel.aspx?articleid=6523999</a> for the source. <br />
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If sentenced to prison, he faces at least one year. My hunches tell me they've already made up their minds about sentencing him to forensic psychiatric care instead, under the LRV law. For people new to this story, all Christer did was take his son back to see his relatives instead of staying with the social services. See <a href="http://friendsofdomenic.blogspot.com/">http://friendsofdomenic.blogspot.com/</a> for the full story.<br />
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Update: During a video interview with Domenic which was played in the courtroom, he says he enjoyed seeing his relatives and found the "kidnapping" a great adventure. So the person victim of this "crime" didn't suffer any physical or psychological harm at all.<br />
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Update 2: A longer article was posted last night on the same newspaper, at <a href="http://www.helagotland.se/nyheter/artikel.aspx?articleid=6526200">http://www.helagotland.se/nyheter/artikel.aspx?articleid=6526200</a> It seems another person was charged with complicity in the "crime" as well, for having rented a car. Judging by the article, psychiatric care is the likely sanction. This "crime" didn't involve any force, yet the legal representative assigned to Domenic is now suing his father for 50'000 crowns in damages, and Christer will most likely be deprived of his liberty for years to come. I believe it's possible that the justice system has been a political pawn in this case, making sure to set an example with a man who has fought the authorities.<br />
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The real "crime" isn't one with a victim in form of a person, but one against the state, whose authority has been questioned.Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-19320555123137370502010-12-19T09:38:00.000+01:002010-12-19T09:38:00.815+01:00Survey show Swedes have no confidence in politicians or journalistsA recent survey conducted by Reagera Marknadsanalys on behalf of real estate firm Fastighetsbyrån found that Swedes have extremely low confidence in certain professions. Among the lowest were 6% for politicians and 4% for journalists.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The survey took place between 6 and 14 October 2010, and interviewees were 1001 men and women between ages 20 and 74. The object of the survey was to study how comparatively well real estate brokers fared, a profession many people regard with disdain. Listed figures are for the ones people have great confidence for. Car salesmen received the least trust, at 1%. These are the complete figures:<br />
<br />
Physicians - 55%<br />
Police officers - 50%<br />
Bank clerks - 21%<br />
Lawyers - 21%<br />
Craftsmen - 13%<br />
Politicians - 6%<br />
Real estate brokers - 5%<br />
Journalists - 4%<br />
Fund managers - 4%<br />
Car salesmen - 1%<br />
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It's interesting to note that when politicians don't have confidence in people managing their own affairs, or journalists in people being able to handle the truth, they don't get much confidence in return either.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/pressroom/fastighetsbyran/pressrelease/view/laagt-foertroende-foer-fastighetsmaeklare-bland-svenskarna-543763">http://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/pressroom/fastighetsbyran/pressrelease/view/laagt-foertroende-foer-fastighetsmaeklare-bland-svenskarna-543763</a> for the news release in Swedish.Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290200281768117611.post-57881398377818529512010-12-12T00:02:00.003+01:002011-02-20T12:50:04.270+01:00Guilty until proven innocentThe following story sets a new low watermark for the Swedish justice system. On 13 November 2008, the father of a family living in Gothenburg had picked up his four months old son from his crib when he heard something snap, after which his son burst in tears. It turned out the toddler had broken his arm, and quickly they're off to the ER, which concludes that the boy will recover. Per government regulation, the health care staff still file a report to the social services about the damage the toddler had suffered in his own home, one they deliver the following day. The same day, the 14th of November, they also make an appointment with specialists to investigate the boy for brittle bones, but this will be over two months into the future.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
The social services is much faster, however. The same day they receive the report, they launch an investigation into this home, which involves contacting the parents and accusing them of abusing their child. After the social services threatens the parents with a seizure supported by the LVU law, they agree to move into an institution for observation, which the social services has suggested. The parents are told that this place is like a spa, and that it's nothing to be concerned about. <br />
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Yet when they arrive, they find themselves placed in something they themselves describe as an "Eastern European orphanage," having been mislead about this institution Birkahemmet. They're informed that the government will take the child if they try to leave. So for the next seven weeks, the whole family has to live inside an institution, even over Christmas. Wonder what songs they sang there? Maybe something like this, with music from Jingle Bells:<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Filing a report<br />
To the social services<br />
Into the home we go<br />
Crying all the way<br />
Social workers say<br />
We're awful parents<br />
What fun it is to have to prove<br />
We're not like that at all<br />
<br />
Oh, LVU, LVU<br />
LVU the kids<br />
Oh, what fun it is to see<br />
the state take my children<br />
Oh, LVU, LVU<br />
LVU the kids<br />
Oh, what fun it is to see<br />
the state take my children</blockquote><br />
This Birkahemmet is mainly for mentally retarded people whom the government doesn't think can manage parenting. It's an understatement to say the parents are being treated in a humiliating way here. The webpage for this home (<a href="http://www.gryning.se/hem_info.asp?id=14">http://www.gryning.se/hem_info.asp?id=14</a>) offers a pdf document on parenting written by a psychologist by the name of Anders Broberg, who as only references lists three books authored by himself, and here is explained how many ways there are of harmful biological parenting which can constitute abuse to a child. Among other things it's seen as pathological if a child doesn't seek safety with his parents when faced with danger, which I can agree on. The opposite behaviour is also supposedly pathological - the "ambivalent" child that seeks safety and intimacy when not faced with danger, which I find harder to understand. Naturally the document ends by stressing the need for government intervention - placement into foster care if the biological parenthood isn't perfect. <br />
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After the doctor had concluded the child might be suffering from brittle bones, the social services drop their investigation, and now the parents attempt to sue the government because of the violation of their integrity they've had to endure and that they were deceived into moving the institutions under false impressions. They ask for 300'000 crowns or about $45'000, and charge the government with kidnapping for having deprived them of their liberty. Yet when the district court delivered its verdict a week ago, the social services is cleared of these charges, though the court admits they were misled about what kind of an institution Birkahemmet was. Since the lawsuit is unsuccessful, the parents are left paying both their own legal costs (an unknown amount) as well as that of the social services (30'750 crowns plus interest).<br />
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It might be nothing more than my suspicious nature, but I definitely see the district court sending the little guy a message here, by leaving the parents with all the legal costs: "Don't even think you can sue the government!"<br />
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Source: Göteborgs-Posten, 4 December 2010Daniel Hammarberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13013634509010689256noreply@blogger.com3