Sweden's broadest truly independent newspaper

tisdag 18 februari 2025

tisdag 18 februari 2025

Here are the activists behind the Swedish Security Service mapping of dissidents

  • A report from the Swedish Security Service and the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) brands a long list of opposition figures in Sweden.
  • Independent media, bloggers, and artists are harshly labeled as "anti-democratic extremists".
  • Behind the report are three politically driven activists with a history of mapping dissenters in Sweden.
publicerad 5 december 2023
– av Isac Boman
The three activists from left to right: Anna Lioufas, Hannah Pollack Sarnecki, and Mathilde Jarlsbo.

The ”report” titled Rotten Democracy – Conspiracy Propaganda, Racism and Violence is produced by the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) on behalf of the Swedish Security Service (Säpo). The report labels nearly all organizations, networks, and a large number of private individuals who question official narratives in Sweden as ”anti-democratic extremists”.

An examination shows that all three authors of the report are driven political activists with a history of casting suspicion on system critics in Sweden. Their activism primarily focuses on portraying peaceful and traditionally legitimate forms of democratic social criticism as serious societal threats and politically ”far-right”.

Hannah Pollack Sarnecki

The most well-known name among the trio is 41-year-old Hannah Pollack Sarnecki – daughter of the controversially media-frequent criminologist Jerzy Sarnecki, who is known for denying the connection between Sweden’s immigration policy and the country’s rising crime rate for many years.

Pollack Sarnecki is primarily an engaged anti-nationalist and has signed a debate article taking a political stance against the Sweden Democrats and their view of Swedish culture, which is described as ”essentialist and outdated”. She has also written the report Fascism’s Green Roots: Conspiracy Theories, Crisis, and Collapse, in which she dramatically links peaceful criticism of globalization and vaccine mandates with bloody terror attacks and violent, obscure forms of nationalism.

Hannah Pollack Sarnecki in a panel discussion at the Swedish Holocaust Authority Forum for Living History. Photo: facsimile/FFLH/Youtube.

She has been hired in various contexts by the tax-funded Swedish Television (SVT), where she has managed to cast suspicion on the peaceful Freedom Convoy, whose demonstrators were later forcefully subdued by the Trudeau regime in Canada under the war laws enacted during the protests outside the parliament in Ottawa. In her capacity as an ”expert” on state television, she has also expressed that vaccine critics threaten ”the legitimacy of liberal democracy” – and describes vaccine criticism as a form of ”Russian propaganda”.

Anna Lioufas

46-year-old Anna Lioufas is not as well-known to the public as Pollack Sarnecki but has previously worked at the Swedish police authority, the Swedish national council for crime prevention (Brå), and the Government offices of Sweden.

On social media, she is clear about her engagement for the LGBTQ lobby, her antipathy towards the former Republican president of the USA, Donald Trump, and her support for the violence-affirming Black Power movement BLM.

Anna Lioufas on Twitter.

The newspaper Samnytt has reviewed a large part of her social interactions, showing that she has ”liked” or shared posts and comments hostile to the Sweden Democrats, and has expressed indignation that the nationalist party Alternative for Sweden is allowed to demonstrate like other parties.

”Walking around the city with the family and apparently ”Alternativ för Sverige” has been allowed to hold some damn speech. It’s the CRAZIEST SHIT I’ve ever heard. Boiling and physically sick from the words that are said. Racism can go to hell!!!”, reads one of the posts she has liked.

Mathilde Jarlsbo

The third author of the report is Mathilde Jarlsbo, 26 years old and a trained criminologist, who has only worked for FOI for just under a year.

In an interview with Lund University, she emphasizes that she spends her days analyzing how ”antagonists using digital means can pose a threat to democracy” and how these are mapped out.

Mathilde Jarlsbo with FOI’s lapel pin. Photo: Linkedin

– Through the assessment of threats and risks, evaluation of capabilities and structures, and data collection, the everyday work aims to conduct studies and research that can contribute to increased knowledge, quality, and security.

Jarlsbo has also previously worked on a report that takes a hard stance against system-critical journalists – under the title Did someone say election fraud? – The information environment on social media in connection with the 2022 election campaign. This report links Swedish alternative media and opinion makers with bots and the spread of disinformation campaigns against the major political parties, also attempting to cast suspicion on those who raise questions about potential irregularities in the Swedish election.

Facts: Säpo/FOI

The Swedish security service (Säpo) is one of Sweden's two operational police authorities, the other being the police authority. The stated task of the security service is to protect the freedoms and rights of Sweden's citizens, national security, and the democratic constitutional state. The head of the agency is appointed by the government.

The Swedish defence research agency (FOI) is a government agency under the Ministry of defence, tasked with conducting research for both civilian and military defense to "protect Sweden's sovereign rights and Swedish interests".

Western bloc narrative collapses as salafists take over Syria

The Salafist Islamists in Syria have not only overthrown the secular rule of Bashar al-Bassad, but have also caused a head-on clash between two of the Western bloc's entrenched narratives.

publicerad 15 december 2024
– av Isac Boman
Syria's de facto new leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani.

After 55 years of rule, the al-Assad dynasty was finally overthrown in Syria, a key Middle Eastern country in many ways. A jihadist lightning offensive from the Islamist breakaway region of Idlib made its way all the way into the capital Damascus – without encountering much resistance from the Syrian state military apparatus – seemingly severely hollowed out after more than 13 years of war and sanctions.

If the mainstream establishment media and those in power are to be believed, now is the time to rejoice, arguing that Syria now faces a brighter future, perhaps even a liberal democratic one. Their narrative is that Syria has been a totalitarian and bloody dictatorship for the past few decades, with President Bashar al-Assad one of the world’s worst despots. He has arbitrarily imprisoned, tortured and killed anyone who had the bad judgment to defy him.

In other words, much the same thing we were previously told about Libya’s leader Muammar Gadaffi or Iraq’s Saddam Hussein in connection with the US-led wars against them.

The fact that the so-called rebel groups, as was the case in Libya, are not characterized by any liberal democratic orientation at all, but by militant Islamists with roots in the salafist terrorist movements al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and the Nusra Front, is added in this context as something of a parenthesis.

Narratives colliding

Is the message, then, that not only the Syrian diaspora, but also the people of the world at large, should be filled with hope that Syria is now ruled by the same kind of jihadists who were allegedly behind the September 11 attacks, and who the US-led Western bloc has explained are the reason it has spent countless billions fighting for more than 20 years in Afghanistan?

The leader of Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – the Organization for the Liberation of the Levant – and Syria’s new de facto head of state, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, was previously one of America’s most wanted terrorists, and specifically founded and led Jabhat al-Nusra, which later became the al-Qaeda branch in Syria with the title of emir – an Islamic ruler title. How many lives he already has on his conscience at this point is anyone’s guess.

If the mainstream establishment media and those in power are to be believed, now is the time to rejoice, arguing that Syria now faces a brighter future

The Islamists of the HTS, who have now seized power in most of Syria, have frequently used suicide and car bombings to achieve their political goals, as well as torture, extrajudicial killings and kidnappings. In the terrorist group’s long-standing power base of Idlib, critics and dissenting voices have often disappeared never to be found again, and strict Sharia law prevails.

These circumstances pose great difficulties for how the Western bloc should now publicly relate to the fact that the same kind of militant Islamists, previously condemned and sought for terrorist acts around the world and who established the Islamic State’s reign of terror, have now seized power and replaced the secular rule of Bashar al-Assad’s socialist Baath Party.

Moderate Islamists?

Since the history of HTS and al-Julani cannot be denied or hidden, the initial narrative seems to be that they were indeed Islamist terrorists in the past, but have now actually pledged repentance to move in a more “modern” and moderate direction. Old youthful sins, you might say, and surely everyone deserves a second chance – even if they have massacred civilians in the past?

Or as Jake Sullivan, national security advisor in the Biden administration, puts it.

The rebel groups, including the ones that have been designated as terrorist groups, have actually said all the right things, now the question is – what will they do to try to bring about a better Syria”.

The HTS itself has taken the same line, declaring that it has no intention of establishing a larger, multi-country totalitarian caliphate – but will be content to establish a more modest Islamist regime in Syria.

This approach is expressed in particular by outgoing US President Joe Biden, who describes the takeover as a “historic opportunity”, as well as Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, who also described the Islamist transfer of power as a “historic day” that “offers great opportunities”.

Biden and Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Photo: Hana Yariv/CC BY-SA 3.0

Other politicians and media outlets within the Western bloc are trying, with varying degrees of success, to convince their audiences that HTS may indeed technically be considered Islamists – but are certainly not as fundamentalistically Islamist as ISIS or al-Qaeda – however that is measured.

The cynical power play

The real reason why the salafists in Syria are being wrapped in cotton wool in this way is apparently far more cynical and pragmatic than they want to pretend. As far as those in power in the West are concerned, it does not matter in practice that the HTS are not and have no intention of becoming liberals or any other kind of democrats. On the contrary, they must be well aware that the group intends to turn Syria into an Islamist state based on harsh interpretations of Sharia law, where human rights mean nothing and where any opposition or critical voices can coldly expect to be killed or thrown into prison never to see the light of day again. But even this is of little consequence, as what matters is that the jihadists’ advance is seen to benefit the economic and geopolitical interests of the United States and Israel in the region – while disadvantaging Iran and Russia.

Rather, the hope is probably that Syria now has a leader who, unlike Bashar al-Assad, actually dances to the tune of the globalists. It should be noted, of course, that these groups are not always easy to dominate, and sometimes, on their own, come up with antics that are not appreciated by the same establishment – which is why it is not entirely unlikely that the spin doctors behind the narratives in the West will tomorrow conclude that they were probably dangerous Islamist terrorists after all, and that another regime change is therefore needed – perhaps even the intervention of Israel and NATO country Turkey to sort out the situation.

In any case, with the future still uncertain, we are now expected to applaud the overthrow of the Baath Party and President al-Assad by the heroic and righteous rebels – who should certainly not be confused with previous versions of themselves or held responsible for the terror and crimes they have committed, at least not at this stage.

The Taliban originated as the US-backed Mujaheddin fighters against the Soviet-backed regime in Kabul, but would later turn on their masters. Photo: facisimile/Youtube

Anyone who has been around for a while understands that Syria is by no means a unique case. In 2007, the American general Wesley Clarks gave a famous testimony that the political regime in the United States had a stated goal as early as 2001 to see the state power in seven countries overthrown, starting with Iraq, followed by Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and finally – Iran. After Syria, only an isolated Lebanon and Iran remain.

The real actors of big politics, cynically pushing their lines behind the scenes, have shown over the years that they have no other principle than to strengthen their power on the global stage like a mafia organization. Whether it uses sanctions, subversion and the occasional bat in the form of Salafist Islamists, violent left-wing extremist movements, right-wing paramilitary units or militias with child soldiers is secondary.

As usual, the people suffer. The secular Arab population in particular, and especially the Shiite Alawite minority, from which the al-Assad family originates, are likely to face a bleak future in the new Syria that now awaits them.

 

Isac Boman

Editorial: Who prepares us for peace?

The Sweden-NATO relationship

Judging by the NATO Secretary General, Western leaders seem increasingly intent on escalating to an unimaginable full-scale war with Russia. It is a disastrous path that they have embarked on, demonstrating the desperate need to strengthen the voices for long-term solutions based on dialogue and diplomacy rather than on bombs and incitement.

publicerad 17 februari 2024
– av Markus Andersson
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a press conference in Sweden.

The rhetoric of the Western establishment is becoming more strident and belligerent with each passing month. The propaganda effort to gain public support for a fatal war with Russia seems to be getting more and more intense.

About a month ago, several Swedish leaders declared that Swedes must now ”mentally prepare” for war with Russia, while the Minister of Civil Affairs called for ”total resistance”.

Similar messages have been conveyed around the same time by European politicians and senior officials in other European countries.

A strong basic preparedness and a defence force that has the capacity to secure the country’s borders is of course nothing strange, but a normal state of affairs in every normally functioning nation state. In the same way, it is of course perfectly natural for most citizens to defend themselves if they are invaded. This could have applied to Sweden as well, had it not been for the fact that our rulers have spent half a century systematically disarming and weakening the Swedish defense.

Now, our hope lies instead with NATO, and NATO alone, it is argued – a military alliance led by a United States that has become far more notorious over the years for its long list of coups and wars of aggression than for thoughtful defense.

The doomsday scenario is getting closer

With NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declaring that citizens must ”prepare for a confrontation that could last for decades”, rearm, increase arms production and intensify military support to Ukraine, it is clear that war is seen as the only possible way forward.

The ”Russian aggression” risks spreading to Europe, and more countries could be invaded if Ukraine falls, they say. Therefore, Stoltenberg argues, it is necessary to play hardball and for NATO countries to increase militarization in a way not seen since the Cold War.

”NATO does not seek war with Russia”, Stoltenberg promises, but it is not clear what efforts are actually being made to bring about constructive talks, dialogue and a lasting peace in Europe. It is highly unclear whether any such sincere attempts are being made at all, especially when Vladimir Putin himself says that he has had no direct contact even with the US President since the outbreak of the war.

It is perfectly possible to be highly critical of Putin’s actions, the war in Ukraine, and to sincerely regret the immense human suffering it has caused – while at the same time easily realizing that a major European war will benefit no one. Apart from the military-industrial complex and other similar actors in the most obscure corridors of global power politics.

What is clear is that such a war will inevitably lead to millions of dead Europeans, a humanitarian disaster on par with that suffered during World War II – and moreover a situation that potentially risks escalating to the magnitude that one of the parties decides to use a number of the nuclear weapons they have in abundance and which have the potential to actually destroy Europe as we know it.

A doomsday scenario, to be sure, but nevertheless a scenario that is creeping ever closer and has unfortunately become much more likely today than it was five, ten or 20 years ago.

The path of war

The perception in the West seems to be that Russia must be bombarded into submission and that this is the solution to the conflict in the region. Hand in hand with this is the notion that Russia is a ’no-talk state’. Both of these tenets are incredibly dangerous and drive us closer to a confrontation where no one has anything to gain, except those who actually want Europe, the US and Russia to burn together in an unimaginable inferno.

In today’s Western debate, there is an almost complete absence of serious voices that instead put forward strategies on how to end the fighting and strengthen peace in Europe; voices that are given the space to remind us that dialogue diplomacy is the way forward towards a better world and that it is not in Europe’s interest to ”fight to the last European” or to sacrifice its sons, brothers and fathers on the altar of big politics, as the Ukrainian people have already been sacrificed. Unfortunately, our leaders do not seem interested in listening to these increasingly rare voices. The path they have chosen is that of warmongering – and above all that of the United States.

Which parties win in each European country’s parliament also seems to be of limited importance, as most have so far been willing to let their foreign policy be dictated by the US.

The power must again be subordinated to the interests of the people and peace. There is a long way to go, but the only way to get there is to do what we can to be heard and to empower those who have the integrity to say no to the madness, in every possible way. Strengthening and supporting truly independent media is one such way.

 

Markus Andersson

Comment: For whom should the Swedish people go to war?

The Sweden-NATO relationship

After 200 years of peace, every Swede is now suddenly being ordered to 'mentally prepare' for war by Sweden's commander-in-chief and government. It all seems very strange and would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. What exactly has happened?

publicerad 10 januari 2024
– av Markus Andersson
Commander-in-Chief Micael Bydén, Minister of Defense Pål Jonsson and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
This is an opinion piece. The author is responsible for the views expressed in the article.

The last time Sweden was really at war was in 1814 during the short campaign against Norway. Since then, more than two centuries have passed and, apart from a few missions in the Third World under the UN flag or NATO leadership, we have avoided being militarily involved in the major conflicts and wars. On the contrary, it is our non-alignment and the principle of neutrality that is highlighted globally. Even though war-mongering forces have of course often made accusations of cowardice, it was definitely clear that Sweden was a country that actually worked for peace and dialogue – not for war and escalation.

Recently, the situation has become diametrically opposed. For example, our Commander-in-Chief recently announced that all Swedes must be ”ready” for war – ”down to the individual level mentally preparing” for aggression.

It’s not ”pitch black” yet, Micael Bydén adds, but he believes that the situation is extremely serious and that what is happening in Ukraine could also happen in Sweden – and that this is something that all citizens and society as a whole must now prepare for.

It has been well over 200 years since battles took place on Swedish territory, and since then, through determination, we have managed to avoid being involved in two bloody world wars. Now, in 2024, according to ÖB, we are suddenly facing a potentially imminent invasion.

The whole situation seems very strange. What is it that has prompted this sudden threat of war?

Accountability of Swedish politicians

What could Sweden, historically so peaceful and diplomatically successful, have done to cause the outside world (read: Russia) to consider us a threat to the extent that, according to our leaders, they might consider invading the country?

For decades, Swedish leaders have systematically and purposefully chosen to dismantle and disarm not only the Swedish military – but also civil defense and crisis preparedness in general. Stocks and reserves have been emptied, discarded and demolished. Nor has there been any ambition to keep the population equipped, strong and prepared in the event of crisis and war – rather the opposite has been sought.

When crisis and times of unrest (real or created) in Europe have subsequently become reality, it has been a simple matter for the power establishment to persuade the majority of citizens that Sweden stands no chance in the event of conflict. The solution sold is that the big, strong USA and NATO will come and ”protect” us. Peace activists’ main criticism of Sweden’s increasingly close ties to the US is that it represents a fundamental departure from traditional Swedish non-alignment.

The popularly unsupported engagement with the US and NATO is widely claimed to strengthen Swedish security, while many point out that it has in fact had the exact opposite effect.

It is hardly far-fetched that the alleged threat of war is linked to the fact that Swedish authorities have decided to allow foreign soldiers and weapons systems onto Swedish soil. At present, there is not even a guarantee that American nuclear weapons are not already deployed in Sweden. In short, the country’s fate is now in the hands of others (read: the US) when it comes to existential decisions of fundamental importance to our future.

Infantile explanatory models

Instead of bluntly urging people to ”prepare for war”, perhaps the Chief of Staff, the Minister of Defense, the Prime Minister and others could take the time to answer the question why? Why do our leaders suddenly find it uninteresting to engage in any kind of dialogue, cooperation and peace in the region?

Are they asking the Swedish people to settle for the same infantile model of explanation used so many times before in history, such as in connection with the American-orchestrated attacks on Iraq, Libya and Syria – where Vladimir Putin, after Saddam Hussein, Moammar Ghaddaffi and Bashar Al-Assad, is now described as the next irrational Disney villain to destroy?

For which interests are we supposed to be ready to sacrifice our lives? The question is particularly relevant to ask because it is not in the interest of Swedes or Sweden to go to war, but unfortunately it seems to be in the interest of the Swedish rulers. Unfortunately, it has been a long time since these two interests had anything to do with each other, which now seriously puts the security of the people at stake – at least if you listen to the leaders themselves.

 

Markus Andersson

Here is the new mega-city being built outside Beijing

The modern China

  • In 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced plans to build a brand new city to house as many as 5.6 million people to relieve the pressure on the capital Beijing.
  • Nya Dagbladet was one of the first foreign media to visit the futuristic Xiong'an - a city described as a glimpse into the future of China.
publicerad 29 december 2023
– av Markus Andersson
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Xiong'an montage
Xiong'an security checkpoint
Xiong'an police checkpoint
Xiong'an model
Xiong'an telecom center model
The Xiong'an telecom center under construction
Guide shows the construction plan
Xiong'an model round central building
Xiong'an construction site view
Xiong'an another construction site
Xiong'an construction site
Xiong'an construction site
Xiong'an self-driving bus
Xiong'an bus interior monitored
Xiong'an bus interior panel
Xiong'an everyday life awakening
Xiong'an roads
Xiong'an city intersection
Xiong'an bus central
Xiong'an Isac guided tour wetlands
Xiong'an newly built complexes
Xiong'an welcoming delegation
Xiong'an reception center
previous arrowprevious arrow
next arrownext arrow
Xiong'an montage
Xiong'an security checkpoint
Xiong'an police checkpoint
Xiong'an model
Xiong'an telecom center model
The Xiong'an telecom center under construction
Guide shows the construction plan
Xiong'an model round central building
Xiong'an construction site view
Xiong'an another construction site
Xiong'an construction site
Xiong'an construction site
Xiong'an self-driving bus
Xiong'an bus interior monitored
Xiong'an bus interior panel
Xiong'an everyday life awakening
Xiong'an roads
Xiong'an city intersection
Xiong'an bus central
Xiong'an Isac guided tour wetlands
Xiong'an newly built complexes
Xiong'an welcoming delegation
Xiong'an reception center
previous arrow
next arrow