Sweden’s Press Ombudsman Wants to Prosecute Bloggers

[wilpuri]

Sweden’s Press Ombudsman Wants to Prosecute Bloggers

From the desk of Fjordman on Tue, 2008-04-15 16:05

Yrsa Stenius, the Swedish press Ombudsmann, wants to press charges against certain bloggers. She is worried about developments on the Internet, where anybody can just write anything they want. She says this has gone too far. She fears this trend could even spread to the mainstream media, unless something is done and a legal precedent is established to rein in unruly bloggers.
At the same time, the extreme left-wing thugs of Antifascistisk Action (AFA), who frequently physically assault critics of mass immigration, for instance members of the small party the Sweden Democrats, recently destroyed the car of a 90-year-old woman and wrote "nasse" (Nazi) on top of it. As it turned out, they picked the wrong car. Why doesn't Ms. Stenius and the rest of the establishment worry more about the violent activities of AFA, instead of "impolite" bloggers who do nothing more than write words on their websites?
Yrsa Stenius is originally from Helsinki, Finland, from the country's Swedish-speaking minority. She has been associated with Aftonbladet since 1979, and was even their political editor-in-chief in the mid-80s, and was a columnist for them as late as 2007. In 2006, she severely criticized the publishing of the Muhammad cartoons by newspaper Jyllands-Posten in Denmark as hateful misuse of free speech. When it was announced in 2007 that she would become press Ombudsman, the conservative blogger Dick Erixon, one of Sweden's most famous political bloggers, wrote the post "A press Ombudsman against free speech," where he quoted her criticism of the Muhammad cartoons, which she made while working as a columnist for the newspaper Aftonbladet.
Aftonbladet has close ideological ties to the Social Democrats, the country's dominant party for most of the past century. According to journalist Karen Jespersen, Helle Klein, political editor-in-chief from 2001 to 2007 and a former leading member of the Social Democratic Youth League, has stated that "If the debate is [about] that there are problems caused by refugees and immigrants, we don't want it." During a demonstration organized by Islamic and anti-racist organizations in December 2006, Klein stood in front of a banner which read "A Sweden for all – Stop the Nazi violence" and held a speech warning against Islamophobia in the media. Klein has voiced strong sympathy for terrorist organization Hamas in her editorials, while warning against the threat to world peace posed by Israeli aggression and the Christian Zionist Right in the USA. She still blogged at Aftonbladet's website as of April 2008.
One of Yrsa Stenius' fellow columnists at Aftonbladet, the long-time Communist Robert Aschberg, is the publisher of Expo magazine. Why doesn't Stenius ask whether it is OK that the organization Expo, which gets treated as a credible source regarding the "far right" by Swedish media and receives funding from the political establishment, cooperates with a violent, extremist organization? Exactly how close these ties are is difficult to establish, but leading Expo member Charles Westin in October 2007 published the book Brunt! ("brown," as in "Fascist") where he let members of AFA contribute some of their intelligence regarding "right-wing extremists." In addition to Mr. Westin, the book was co-authored by Mats Deland, who is a journalist in national newspaper Aftonbladet.
Shouldn't it worry Ms. Stenius that a representative of one of Scandinavia's largest newspapers, with close ties to the country's largest political party, thus cooperates openly with an organization known for physically assaulting members of a legal opposition party, even in their private homes? Isn't that worse than what a few bloggers may or may not write about mass immigration at their private websites? I don't know much about the specific mandate of the press Ombudsman, but according to the Wikipedia entry, the PO "is to determine whether the actions of a newspaper is in line with good journalistic practice." Well, I hereby suggest that Yrsa Stenius does some research into the organization AFA, and asks whether it is "good journalistic practice" for Swedish journalists to cooperate with such an organization. Perhaps she should also take a look at potential ties between AFA and Expo.

Background information:

The Death of Sweden (31 July 2007)

According to news site The Local, a judge who hears migration appeals had his house vandalized by left-wing extremists. Threats were sprayed on the walls, red paint was poured over the steps and an axe was left outside his home. "When a judge in a Swedish court has his home vandalised in this way, it is of course very serious," said Ingvar Paulsson, head of the Gothenburg District Administrative Court. The group Antifascistisk Action (AFA) writes on its homepage that the attack was motivated by the situation of Iraqi asylum seekers. The Swedish Board of Migration has ruled that they should be deported if they cannot show that a threat exists against them personally.

It should be noted here that Sweden alone in 2006 accepted almost as many asylum applications from Iraqis as all other European countries did combined. Native Swedes, who live in a country that was one of the most ethnically homogeneous nations in the world only 30 years ago, will be a minority in their own country within a few decades, if current trends continue. Sweden is self-destructing at a pace that is probably unprecedented in history, but for the extreme Left, even this isn't fast enough.

AFA openly brag about numerous attacks against persons who get their full name and address published on their website. According to them, this is done in order to fight against capitalist exploitation and for a global, classless society. Their logic goes something like this: If you protest against Muslim immigration, you suffer from Islamophobia, which is almost the same as xenophobia, which is almost the same as racism. And racists are almost Fascists and Nazis, as we all know, and they shouldn't be allowed to voice their opinions in public. Hence, if you protest against being assaulted or raped by Muslims, you are evil and need to be silenced. If a native Swede is really lucky, he or she will thus first get mugged or battered by Muslims, and then beaten up a second time by his own extreme Leftists for objecting to being beaten the first time. The state does next to nothing to prevent either, of course. Native Swedes who object to a mass immigration that will render them a minority in their own country within a couple of generations have already been classified as "racists," and racists are for all practical purposes outside of the protection of the law.

An Open Letter to Expo and Expressen newspaper (28 January 2008)

Is the Expressen newspaper going to put the violent organization AFA under similar scrutiny? Can they, for instance, find out why members of AFA in 2007 were allowed to walk next to senior members of the Swedish cabinet, the Swedish media and the Swedish law enforcement despite the fact that AFA members had probably attacked the property of a judge only days before? How come AFA can openly brag about their violent, extra-legal activities for years without being stopped by the authorities? Is it possible that the political elites find them to be a useful tool against those criticizing mass immigration?

As Bruce Bawer writes in While Sweden Slept: "Sweden Democrats have been the targets of events that recall China's Cultural Revolution. Staged 'people's protests' by members of the 'youth divisions' of other parties have led to the firing of Sweden Democrats from their jobs. A few weeks ago, a junior diplomat was dismissed when it became known that he was a member of the party and had criticized his country's immigration policy. On several occasions, thugs loyal to the ruling parties have broken up SD meetings and beaten up party leaders."

What kind of relationship does Expo have with the extremist organization AFA? Is Expo aware of the fact that AFA has been attacking "Islamophobes" for years, and that by branding a person such as Kurt Lundgren an "Islamophobe," they are thus indirectly setting him up for an attack? What has Expo done during the past dozen years to discourage or prevent AFA members from attacking people who have been charged with or convicted of no crime? After they wrote about "The new face of Islamophobia," Expo's Daniel Poohl stated that it's "not undemocratic" to deny the Sweden Democrats access to political influence. But who is Mr. Poohl, who has been elected to represent nobody, to decide how much free speech other citizens should have in a supposedly free country? Who died and made Expo God?

The New York Times and Sweden: The Dark Side of Paradise (22 May 2006)

Before the national elections in the fall of 2006, members of all the established parties, including the so-called right-wing opposition, are cooperating in efforts to boycott any collaboration with the Sweden Democrats or other "xenophobic" parties after the elections. This is widely applauded by the Swedish media establishment. The majority of headmasters in Stockholm's high schools want to block the Sweden Democrats from participating in pre-election debates at their schools because they disagree with their "perspective on humanity." Party members can seldom hold meetings without being hassled by political hooligans, who make noise, destroy equipment or even resort to violence. Violent assaults and life threatening attacks against members of the Sweden Democrats, by Muslims or "anti-Fascists," have taken place many times, but are rarely mentioned in the media. No dissent is tolerated in Sweden

In one such attack, which extreme Leftists were later openly bragging about on the Internet, around 30 members of the Sweden Democrats were attending a private party outside the town of Växjö. "To clearly demonstrate that the Sweden Democrats are not welcome in our area, about 20 anti-Fascists chose to attack the party." "The Sweden Democrats were attacked with knives, axes, iron bars and other weapons. After that, their cars were destroyed." The brave Leftists then smashed the windows and threw tear gas into the building, forcing people outside, where they were again attacked and beaten with iron bars and axes. Several of the people were hospitalized after the attack. This was a peaceful, private party by unarmed members of a perfectly legal political party that just happens to be critical of the country's immigration policies. These brave Leftists or "anti-Fascists" do, for some curious reason, seem to behave pretty much like, well, Fascists, a bit like the Brown Shirts in the 1930s, physically assaulting political opponents to silence them. In another incident in Stockholm, members of the Sweden Democrats handing out leaflets for the party were attacked by a group of extreme Leftists, who started beating and kicking them. One of them got tear gas sprayed in his face. According to Oscar Sjöstedt from the Sweden Democrats in Stockholm, this was the third tear gas attack against them in a few months.

How the West Lost the Cold War (26 August 2007)
The girlfriend of a politician from the Sweden Democrats, a small party critical of mass immigration, was recently attacked at her home outside Stockholm. The young woman was found bound with duct tape in the apartment block where she lives with Martin Kinnunen, chairman of the youth wing of the SD. Three men had forced their way into the couple's apartment and held the 19-year-old at knife point. Kinnunen tells of several threats and anonymous phone calls to the family. He blames the media for systematically portraying the SD as monsters and thus for legitimizing aggression against them, and claims that the Swedish democracy is a sham.

Antifascistisk Aktion, a group that supposedly fights against "racists," openly brag about numerous physical attacks against persons with their full name and address published on their website. Only a week after this group harassed a Swedish judge and vandalized his house, members demonstrated alongside the Swedish police, the Swedish government and the Swedish media establishment during Pride Week, Stockholm's annual gay celebration, in August 2007. At the very end of the Pride Parade marched a group of black-clothed and masked representatives of AFA. Adjacent to them marched a number of policemen, including members of the Swedish Gay Police organization. At their website, AFA claim to have beaten several homophobes during the event, at least one of whom ended up in a hospital.

Source.

[Gnist]

She looks like a man. She's heavily into degermanisation and she thinks it's a terrible problem that Swedes can write what they want to write. I don't like her. She must hate herself to the bone.

[wilpuri]

Originally Posted by Gnist

She looks like a man. She's heavily into degermanisation and she thinks it's a terrible problem that Swedes can write what they want to write. I don't like her. She must hate herself to the bone.

I think its worrying that she is not alone in her thoughts. The recent trial in Finland against blogger Mikko Ellillä is another example of censorship. I fear a EU-initiative to enforce EU-wide censorship of certain opinions.

[Tryggr]

Originally Posted by wilpuri

I think its worrying that she is not alone in her thoughts. The recent trial in Finland against blogger Mikko Ellillä is another example of censorship. I fear a EU-initiative to enforce EU-wide censorship of certain opinions.

Yeah. Pretty much.

A while ago two Dutch men were arrested only because they regularly posted on Stormfront. Never heard if any court decision has been made ... but the fact they were arrested in the first place is already saying enough to me. I may not like Stormfront, but retards or not, they should be able to at least post opinions freely.

I think these militant anti opinions are sadly more wide spread than is desirable.

[Marulus]

Yes, I heard about it too. It was a year ago or so that police stormed the houses and arrested persons who were moderators at the Dutch section of Stormfront. Never heard of what happened aftewards, were they released or indicted.

[Kernunnos]

Originally Posted by wilpuri

I think its worrying that she is not alone in her thoughts. The recent trial in Finland against blogger Mikko Ellillä is another example of censorship. I fear a EU-initiative to enforce EU-wide censorship of certain opinions.

All in all this is ultimately good, as it will alienate popular consensus to their cause: their mask is falling and people will see what is really behind. As long as they won't openly rig elections they are doomed to be chastised by voters sooner or later, or they could even resort to real stalinist tactics.

[Marulus]

Originally Posted by Kernunnos

All in all this is ultimately good, as it will alienate popular consensus to their cause: their mask is falling and people will see what is really behind. As long as they won't openly rig elections they are doomed to be chastised by voters sooner or later, or they could even resort to real stalinist tactics.

Nothing is excluded.

[Kernunnos]

Originally Posted by Marulus

Nothing is excluded.

Since they are using the fabian tactic of introducing socialism almost imperceptibly, in a sly way, changing society profoundly in a mimetic manner, if they lose their temper and resort to violence or censorship it is fairly better.

People are being skinned without their knowledge, and it is the most dangerous thing that is happening.

[Rognvaldr]

Even if voters are aware of this injustice, I do not believe it will do any good. So long as an administration is meeting the basic wants and needs of citizens, and in a stable environment, the people will pay no mind to the censorship of forums, blogs, and other outlets. I’ve seen many Europeans and others on these communities prosecuted for simply posting their beliefs, and continuing and expanding this sets a dangerous precedence. We should oppose all such moves with conviction.

[Kernunnos]

Originally Posted by Rognvaldr

Even if voters are aware of this injustice, I do not believe it will do any good. So long as an administration is meeting the basic wants and needs of citizens, and in a stable environment, the people will pay no mind to the censorship of forums, blogs, and other outlets. I’ve seen many Europeans and others on these communities prosecuted for simply posting their beliefs, and continuing and expanding this sets a dangerous precedence. We should oppose all such moves with conviction.

You know, they claim to be acting in the name of democracy, but such moves are undermining their right to be called democratic.

it is a great loss of credibility, which is ever a prodrome to losing power, sooner or later.

It has happened to so many oligarchies under the most diverse historical conditions and regimes that it becomes a plain truth.

obviously being people well fed and sheltered this will be a slow process.

But acting like this they are categorizing themselves as an incarnation the famous Orwell's pigs.

That is what must be spread and said.

[Tryggr]

Originally Posted by Marulus

Never heard of what happened aftewrds, were they released or indicted.

I honestly have no clue. The court case never reached Flemish press; I guess it would have if they were sentenced though. So I assume they were released under conditions.

[IrishThirdPosition]

Originally Posted by wilpuri

I think its worrying that she is not alone in her thoughts. The recent trial in Finland against blogger Mikko Ellillä is another example of censorship. I fear a EU-initiative to enforce EU-wide censorship of certain opinions.

If a blog is hosted on a U.S. server, these people don't have a leg to stand on.

[Menydh]

Originally Posted by IrishThirdPosition

If a blog is hosted on a U.S. server, these people don't have a leg to stand on.

Not entirely true.

Originally Posted by Tryggr

I honestly have no clue. The court case never reached Flemish press; I guess it would have if they were sentenced though. So I assume they were released under conditions.

Most likely they were only "visited" and then questioned, without any charges being pressed. Probably seeking a psychological effect if nothing else.