The Local's Blog

God Jul to all our readers!

Miscellaneous: December 22nd, 2011 at 5:20 pm by PR

Sweden may not be fully clothed in snow but the julbord is most definitely calling and Karl-Bertil is almost ready for action.

But what about some Christmas cheer from our other editions? In Switzerland we have a piece on the Swiss Mr Christmas, who “dresses trees, not women”. Meanwhile in Germany we look at Saxony’s Christmas wood carving tradition.

Slightly odder, but no less cheery, is the news of a Christmas star that lodged itself in a baby’s throat.

It’s bad news from France, though. Santa has been arrested after wielding a gun in a row – over Christmas trees.

A sneak peak at the new Dragon Tattoo

Miscellaneous: May 29th, 2011 at 8:33 pm by DL

Even though the official release of the Hollywood version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is more than 6 months away, a trailer for the film found its way on to YouTube this weekend

The ‘Feel Bad’ movie of the season, indeed…

BBC puts Jimmie Åkesson in the hotseat

Miscellaneous: January 26th, 2011 at 2:39 pm by DL

Many Swedes tuned into to Wednesdy morning parliamentary debate about extremism in the Swedish Riksdag. Requested by the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats, the debate gave party leader Jimmie Åkesson a chance to make his case about the ties between immigration and Islamic extremism.

While Åkesson maintained his composure on Wednesday, he appeared somewhat less polished during an interview with the BBC which aired the day before.

Are British journalists just tougher than those in Sweden, or is Åkesson just less adept at making his case in English?

Why we have removed comments from some articles

Miscellaneous: December 13th, 2010 at 8:56 pm by DL

Many of you will no doubt have noticed that we are not currently allowing comments on articles relating to Saturday’s Stockholm bombings.

We’re really sorry we had to do this – The Local always strives to encourage a reasoned discussion about events in the news. Yet we know from experience that articles like this attract comments which offend other readers.

When comment threads start to attract a large number of offensive comments, they place unreasonable burdens on our team, whose priority is to bring readers the latest news about the bombings, not to firefight in the comment threads.

Many people, quite understandably, will argue that by removing comments The Local is preventing an open discussion about immigration, integration, terrorism and religion. We have two reponses to this: first, it is not strictly true – any member who is signed in can comment about events in our Discuss section, whether on the Stockholm bombings via The official Stockholm explosion thread or on other articles published on The Local.

Moreover, we will not accept that a small minority of readers (and it really is a tiny but vocal minority) use The Local to spread innuendo and make unsubstantiated allegations about entire groups of citizens, thus offending a large majority of our readers.

It’s worth at this point reminding ourselves what we actually know: so far, only one man has so far been implicated in the bombings. Others may also have been involved; there are certainly plenty of unsavoury people out there who support his actions. But as a news organization, it’s our job to stick to the facts – and we rely on our readers to help us with this in the comment threads. When people fail to stick to this basic requirement, we will no longer allow comments.

When it comes to the bombing, we will report the facts of the case as they are revealed. We will also solicit the opinions of people in Sweden and abroad and we will allow moderated discussion in our Discuss section. Meanwhile, if you have any feedback about our coverage, please contact us directly at: news@thelocal.se

Many thanks for your understanding.

Allegations Tarnish Sweden’s ‘Perfect Monarch’

Books, Design, Film, History, Marketing, Media, Miscellaneous, National, Offbeat, Politics, Society, Sweden abroad, Tourism: November 15th, 2010 at 2:31 pm by VT

Taiwan’s Next Media Animation, which shot to fame late last year for its animated news clip of Elin Nordegren’s alleged attack against then-husband Tiger Woods, has turned its focus again to Sweden.

This time, it has targeted Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf following the publication of controversial biography “Carl XVI Gustaf – the reluctant monarch,” which details rumours of the king’s affairs.Just in case you missed it the first time around, here’s the Tiger video.

One Swede’s story of converting to Islam

Miscellaneous: November 4th, 2010 at 9:52 am by DL

How does a 34-year-old Swedish music teacher become the focus of recent post on a blog connected to the Los Angeles Times newspaper focusing on “observations from Iraq, Iran, Israel, the Arab world, and beyond”?

By telling a story–referred to in the blog as “intriguing, and perhaps a bit puzzling”–about how an unassuming Swede named Malcolm found his spiritual home with Islam.

“I feel very comfortable as a Muslim…. We’re social creatures and we want to feel a sense of belonging,” he said. “If it’s not a clan it’s a nation or a soccer team. For me it’s nice to have a belonging which is not a nation or a football team.”

He explains that the day he “officially” became a Muslim at the Mosque in Stockholm:

The room became quiet as the blond-haired, blue-eyed Swede got up from his seat and started to read out the text alongside the imam in Arabic. From a stand above in the women’s section, his Muslim wife was watching him.

Malcolm summed up the occasion thusly: ” It felt big”.

Philips unveils latest wake-up light campaign

Business, Climate, Design, Film, Marketing, Media, Miscellaneous, Offbeat, Science, Society, Swedish Life, Technology, Tourism: October 29th, 2010 at 2:07 pm by VT

Philips’ advertising campaigns for the wake-up light have historically challenged the prestige of the product, testing the wake-up light’s mettle in real life. In this latest campaign, the test is on an epic scale.

Watch the clip for the trailer here.

Philips travels to Longyearbyen, Norway, where winter lasts for four months and the sun doesn’t rise at all in this period. A town where the local people look with dread to the winter months: a time of little enjoyment and confusion. A period when, without the differentiation of day and night, time itself is without meaning.

Enter Philips and the wake-up light with a simple mission: to restore residents Longyearbyen’s daily routine and help them combat the negative impact of living without natural light for four months.

The wake-up light simulates sunrise, allowing users to, perhaps not surprisingly, wake up in an environment similar to a bright summer’s day. The theory behind the experiment is that this will combat the negative effects of waking, living and then going to sleep in darkness and should help the user readjust to a more natural cycle.

The full footage for the experiment will be released in November. Will it work? Wait and see.

Swedish MP calls Islam the enemy

Miscellaneous: October 26th, 2010 at 5:00 pm by PVS

The Local was among a slew of Swedish news sources that a month ago reported on a local Sweden Democrat politician who called for a ban on Muslims practising Islam in Strömstad in northern Sweden. Last week, Sweden Democrat member of parliament and international affairs spokesperson, Kent Ekeroth, declared that Islam (not Islamic terrorism, not fundamentalist nor extreme Islam, but the religious faith itself) to be the “enemy” of Sweden in a response to an article in Haaratz, the Israeli daily, to which The Local’s David Landes had made a contribution.

While the Sweden Democrats have featured regularly in the The Local and the Swedish press for various statements involving Islam and Muslims, with party leader Jimmie Åkesson once having famously described Islam as “Sweden’s biggest external threat“, Ekeroth’s comments were largely ignored despite appearing to present a new rhetorical standard for the party, and despite their speaker having now taken his place in Sweden’s parliament, the Riksdag.

Could it be that “Swedish MP calls Islam the enemy” is no longer news in Sweden? Here is the response and a link to the article; judge for yourselves.

Americans prefer Sweden!

Miscellaneous: September 27th, 2010 at 4:37 pm by DL

A story circulating on the web over the weekend argued that most Americans actually preferred a system of wealth distribution similar to Sweden’s.

The poor and the rich, Democrats and Republicans are all equally likely to choose the Swedish model.

The article, which appeared on a progressive news blog, is based on a study which attempts to get views from “regular” Americans concerning debates about wealth distribution and inequality in society.

According to the study, 92 percent of Americans preferred “Swedish-style” wealth distribution over the current situation in the United States.

CNN highlights Sweden alongside Malaysia for ‘fine island groups’

Swedish Life, Tourism: September 13th, 2010 at 4:09 pm by VT

At first glance, Sweden and Malaysia appear to have little in common given the vast differences in their climates. However, CNN highlighted both countries for a Friday report on some of the world’s finest island groups.

Swedish voters could end country’s love affair with Social Democrats

Miscellaneous: September 13th, 2010 at 4:02 pm by VT

The AP suggests Swedish voters may be ready to spurn the Social Democrats for a second consecutive term in a story on Sunday.

Swedish women narrowly top Denmark in Women’s World Cup football playoff

Sport, Swedish Life: September 13th, 2010 at 4:00 pm by VT

The Sweden women’s football team narrowly topped Denmark in Women’s World Cup playoff action on Saturday in Gothenburg at Gamla Ullevi, winning 2-1.

Stanley Cup champion Niklas Hjalmarsson goes for a hearty Swedish meal in Chicago

Miscellaneous, Offbeat, Sport, Sweden abroad, Tourism: September 13th, 2010 at 3:54 pm by VT

Hockey defenceman Niklas Hjalmarsson of Eksjö east of Jönköping, winner of the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks last season, has a taste of home at the aptly named Tre Kronor in the Windy City’s Northwest Side on Friday.

NHL predicts continued HV71, Djugården battle for Elitserien supremacy

Sport, Sweden abroad, Swedish Life: September 13th, 2010 at 3:47 pm by VT

The NHL website gave a sneak peek on Wednesday of the upcoming Elitserien season, which begins this week, coming strongly in favour of defending champion HV71 from Linköping and runner-up Djurgården in the race for the 2011 title. Writer Bill Meltzer also took note of talent that has left the league to play in the NHL in the upcoming season and looked back at Swedish stars from years past.

City living can drive people crazy, says Swedish study

Health, Miscellaneous, Swedish Life: September 13th, 2010 at 3:40 pm by VT

A study conducted by a Welsh researcher of more than 200,000 Swedes in their late 20s and mid-30s suggests increased social fragmentation in large cities may partially explain why psychotic disorders are more common in urban areas, researchers have suggested, the findings, published on Tuesday, show.

Swedish singer José González interviewed by CNN

Music, Swedish Life: September 10th, 2010 at 6:31 pm by DL

Following on the heels of CNN’s interview with Swedish singer Robyn earlier this week, the cable news channel turned its attention to Gothenburg native José González, who, despite his Argentinian origins, revealed he feels Swedish first and foremost.

Stieg Larsson prophecy of Sweden Democrats prophecy may come true

Miscellaneous, Politics: September 10th, 2010 at 6:27 pm by VT

Bloomberg suggests Stieg Larsson’s Stieg Larsson prediction a decade ago that the Sweden Democrats would first enter parliament in 2010 may come true, Bloomberg wrote on Friday.

Dolph Lundgren vs. Unicorn

Film, Marketing, Media, Miscellaneous, Music, Offbeat, Swedish Life, Technology: September 10th, 2010 at 6:02 pm by VT

These were uploaded on Thursday:

Dolph Lundgren grills a unicorn

Dolph Lundgren loses his head

Just in case you missed it the first time, here’s Lundgren’s rendition of Elvis Presley’s “A Little Less Conversation” at Melodifestivalen in February.

Hollywood Millennium’s Lisbeth spotted in Stockholm prepping for film

Books, Film, Marketing, Media, Miscellaneous, Opinion, Swedish Life, Tourism: September 9th, 2010 at 12:44 pm by VT

Rooney Mara was spotted on the streets of Stockholm on Wednesday going to a gym and heading to a language school, where she is reportedly learning to speak English with a Swedish accent, the Daily Mail reported on Thursday.

CNN hits the Millennium trail in Stockholm

Architecture, Books, Business, Film, History, Marketing, Media, Miscellaneous, Offbeat, Society, Swedish Life, Tourism: September 9th, 2010 at 12:30 pm by VT

CNN follows the flocks on tourists on the Millennium tour of Stockholm on Wednesday.