The Swedish response to the covid pandemic has become one of the most talked about topics of the last six months, and there's a lot of misinformation floating around. Since that's the case, and since I keep getting asked what the situation on the ground is really like in Sweden, I figured I'd write up a little history, covering the key events from a Swedish perspective, and detailing exactly which restrictions were put in place at what time point, and why.

But first, and perhaps most importantly, why did Sweden decide to follow such an aberrant path?

Actually, to be honest, Sweden could never have done otherwise. The Swedish constitution declares that Swedes have the right to move freely within Sweden, and to leave the country if they so wish. There is a law, the Swedish infectious diseases act, which allows certain limited restrictions to be put in place, but it doesn't allow for a general lockdown. And the power of the state to enforce restrictions on individuals is heavily limited. That is likely the main reason why the Swedish response to covid-19 has been so much more limited than that seen in other countries.

Do I think Swedish politicians are wiser than politicians in other countries? No, of course not. But while some other governments probably caved under internal pressure from their own media and external pressure from other governments and international organizations, the Swedish government couldn't have caved even if it had wanted to.

Large parts of Swedish mainstream media have actually been very pro-lockdown from the start, and have been much more in line with foreign media than they have been with the Swedish state. As an example, on March 13th, at the start of the pandemic, Peter Wolodarski, editor of Sweden's biggest daily broadsheet newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, demanded a lockdown in line with other countries. And tabloids have been full of scare stories. As in every other western country, Swedish media have been feeding people a daily dose of case numbers and death statistics that are never placed in any context. So, while media in most other countries have been marching in lockstep with their national governments, that has not been the case in Sweden.

Greece has imposed severe lockdowns in the city of Thessaloniki and province of Serres, starting from 6am local time on Tuesday, in a bid to curb a second wave of Covid-19 infections.

Non-essential flights to Thessaloniki, the Mediterranean country's second-largest city, have been suspended, with residents there only permitted to leave their homes for specific reasons and obliged to notify authorities first via text message.

The government is also expanding night-time curfews both in the newly locked-down areas and some of the other most populous parts of the country, while bars, restaurants, museums, and theaters are being shut for a month.

After being accused of being behind the controversial Steele Dossier, a discredited report detailing alleged misconduct by President Trump and the catalyst for 'Russiagate,' Olga Galkina claims she had nothing to do with it.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal pointed the finger at Galkina as the source of information for former British spy Christopher Steele's report, which was publicly released by Buzzfeed, in 2017. Initially funded by the US Democratic Party, the information was meant to discredit Trump by showing him as being compromised by Russians.

It suggested that the President used Moscow's help to win the 2016 US Presidential election. It led to years of political chaos in the US, and the protracted 'Mueller Investigation,' which failed to find evidence to support the assertions.

According to Galkina, the dossier was likely entirely invented by her former classmate Igor Danchenko, who added her name to improve its credibility. Danchenko is a Russian emigre in the US, who has worked for Washington think tank industry.

Dr. Bandy X. Lee, who has evaluated the mental state of Donald Trump on CNN and MSNBC, is defending herself against shocked critics after bizarrely comparing and contracting Adolf Hitler and the president.

"Donald Trump is not an Adolf Hitler," Lee announced on Monday through Twitter, then diving into a rant where she seemingly argued the infamous dictator is more "competent" than Trump.

"At least Hitler improved the daily life of his followers, had discipline, and required more of himself to gain the respect of his followers. Even with the same pathology, there are varying degrees of competence."

After a wave of criticism, Lee deleted her tweet and then defended herself by saying she was not actually arguing that Hitler is "better" than Trump.

Swathes of Vienna were sealed off while special forces hunted multiple "heavily armed and dangerous" gunmen following a deadly suspected terror attack across six locations.


Two people were killed and fifteen hospitalised - seven with serious injuries - in the attack on the Austrian capital on Monday night, mayor Michael Ludwig told the national broadcaster ORF.

One of the deceased is a suspected perpetrator shot dead by police, and an officer is among the wounded, police said, as their counterparts in neighbouring Czech Republic enacted random border checks in case the perpetrators attempted to flee northwards.

Officials urged those on the streets to "take shelter" and warned the public not to leave their homes or use public transport, as interior minister Karl Nehammer said the "armed and dangerous" perpetrators were mobile and being hunted by special forces units.

The attacks - which come on the eve of a "hard" national lockdown - were all in the vicinity of the city's central synagogue near the Danube river, but it is not clear whether the place of worship was a target amid reports of shots being fired at those sitting outside the bars nearby.

With merchants in Democrat-run cities boarding up their storefront windows, the possibility of serious urban violence is well understood. As horrific as that could get (ask anyone who lives in Minneapolis), the progressive fascists appear to have a plan in place to make it even worse: disguising their rioters as Trump-supporters in order to make the case that Donald Trump truly is a dictator that must be violently overthrown if he wins or arrested and prosecuted if he loses.

A source that has always been reliable was able to photograph an Antifa flyer:

French police deployed tear gas to remove blockades outside at least 10 high schools in Paris as students staged protests over coronavirus protocols not followed properly as the new academic year got underway in the country.

Hundreds of high school students in the French capital protested against inadequate social distancing and coronavirus transmission mitigation measures on Tuesday, a day after schools reopened for a new term across France - less than one week after the country entered its second lockdown amid a surge in Covid-19 cases.

The students used trash cans to block the entrances to at least ten schools in the capital, with some of the worst tensions seen at The Colbert high school in the city's 10th arrondissement and the Sophie-Germain school in the 4th arrondissement.

Gunmen stormed Kabul University, killing at least 22 people including students in their classrooms, on Monday and Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for what President Ashraf Ghani called a "despicable act of terror."

In a video message, Ghani, who once lectured at the university, announced a national day of mourning to honor the victims and offered his "condolences and profound sympathies to the nation" and the families of the victims.

"My heart is still beating for this academic institution," he said. "Today's attack has left us grief-stricken."

Gunmen barged into Kabul University in the morning, killing students in their classrooms and firing on others as they fled, officials and witnesses said, in what was the second attack on an educational institution in the capital in just over a week.

The three attackers killed at least 22 people, including students, and wounded 22 others before Afghan security forces shot the gunmen dead, the health ministry said.

Victoria police say protesters disregarded the directions of the chief health officer by gathering for a mass rally

A policewoman was taken to hospital after she was injured when officers shut down a large anti-lockdown rally and arrested more than 400 protesters in Melbourne's CBD.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Victorian parliament on Tuesday to oppose the state government's strict Covid-19 lockdowns in Melbourne that were eased last week, holding up signs that read "Tell the Truth", "Not Happy Dan", "Masks Don't Work" and "Corona Hoax 1984".

A Victoria police spokeswoman told Guardian Australia the force "was disappointed to arrest a large number of protestors who again showed disregard for the safety of the broader community and the directions of the chief health officer".

Restrictions in Melbourne currently allow for protests of groups up to 10 people within 25km of a home while wearing a mask. But police said they arrested 404 people after forming a large circle around the group to contain the protest just after midday.

Michigan restaurants will have to begin tracking the names and numbers of customers in case of COVID-19 outbreaks starting Monday under a policy announced Thursday as the state experiences surges in cases of the virus.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services unveiled orders that limit non-residential indoor gatherings without fixed seating to 50 people — the limit was 500 — and restrict individual table sizes at restaurants to six people.

The health department's order on Thursday came on a day when Michigan set a daily case record at 3,675, along with 41 more deaths. That's the most new confirmed cases in a single day during the seven-month pandemic for the state.


The coronavirus trends in Michigan are "incredibly concerning," said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the state's chief medical executive. As of Wednesday, the state reported 1,348 adults with COVID-19 in hospitals, three times the 405 adults with COVID-19 in hospitals one month ago.