Swedish News:

Ola Rapace to star in Bond film. No cash for Hitler’s art. No Nobel ceremony for Jimmie Åkesson. Care depends on where. No preschool for Stina. 

  • Ola Rapace to star in Bond film
    Ola Rapace, Noomi Rapace's ex-husband, has left Sweden for London where he is now shooting the new James Bond film "Skyfall". The Swedish actor is the latest in a long string of famous names to appear in the cast of the film: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, and Judy Dench are some of the other. Says Rapace’s agent Aleksandra Mandic: “I’m not allowed to say what it’s about, or how big a role Ola’s has.” Sam Mendes is directing the film, which will premiere next fall. Ola Rapace will also soon be seen in the upcoming film about boxer Bosse Högberg, a film that’s only in the developmental stage yet.

  • No cash for Hitler's art
    The Swedish enforcement service (Kronofogden) was counting on getting at least 1 million SEK ($152,800) on the sales of eight paintings said to be painted by Adolf Hitler. Well, they counted wrong. The paintings aren’t worth more than about 500 SEK ($76), they are all reproductions of watercolors and none of them were made by the German dictator. “We wanted an estimate value of the paintings (that were confiscated from former Hells Angels leader Thomas Möller),” says prosecutor Jörgen Larsson, “I think the man we hired knew what he was talking about, and he said they are all reproductions of little value.” How they ended up with the police is something Larsson doesn’t want to discuss. Even if the paintings had been painted by Hitler, they would’ve made a hard sell in Sweden. Johan Jinneroth, manager at Bukowskis says they would never sell anything done by Hitler: “We sell nothing that could be related to war crimes. I can’t think of anyone who’d want to sell them (in Sweden). And then there’s no reason to have them appraised either.” Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) tried his hand at art before turning to politics. He painted landscapes in watercolor and also postcards. He tried to gain entrance to the Vienna Art Academy twice, but failed. According to the notes at the academy, he lacked talent.

  • No Nobel ceremony for Jimmie Akesson
    No invitation was sent out to the leader of Sweden Democrats, Jimmie Akesson. The leaders of all other parties in the Swedish parliament have been invited. The Nobel committee’s new CEO Lars Heikensten writes in a statement that there’s no reason to reconsider last year’s decision. A decision that said Åkesson was not a welcome guest as his party goes against the very principle of Alfred Nobel’s testament. Is this fair? Has the Nobel committee made politics into something they shouldn’t? What do you think?

  • Care depends on where
    The care you get if you suffer from cancer completely depends on where in Sweden you live. In some counties the time you have to wait for treatment is twice as long as in others, according to a new report by Socialstyrelsen (The National Board of Health and Welfare). “Unfair,” says investigator Marianne Hanning to Dagens Nyheter. The waiting period differs widely between various parts of the country. For patients with prostate cancer (the most common form of cancer among men), Sörmland is the place to live, as they have the shortest waiting time. In Sörmland it takes 126 days between getting a referral to getting treatment. Compare that to the 295 days it takes in Gävleborg, a difference of 134 percent. “Nobody takes a cancer suspicion lightly,” Hanning continues. “You want fast treatment, fast answers. For some cancer forms it’s imperative that you get treated at an early stage for the results to be good. It may even be a question of survival.” It’s hard to compare different cancers as the definition of “waiting period” varies. For the most serious form of skin cancer, Socialstyrelsen counts the number of days between the date when the person got tested and the date he or she received information about the diagnosis. In Jämtland this takes 9 days, compared to 39 days in Östergötland. Breast cancer patients in Gävleborg may be forced to wait an average of 31 days between their first visit to the doctor and the operation. In the neighboring county Uppsala, it takes only 13 days. “It may have to do with access to resources, that is to say if there are physicians available during a certain period. It may also have to do with how things are organized. It’s all very complex,” Hanning explains. “There’s never just one reason.” Socialstyrelsen is now going to investigate why the differences are so great. The report that is now presented is a partial report to the government about time of waiting in cancer care.

  • No preschool for Stina
    Eskilstuna municipality recently urged Stina Soldin to be put in line for getting into daycare. The letter accompanied by a brochure provoked first confusion then mirth, reports Eskilstuna-Kuriren. “Me and the rest of the personnel had a great laugh,” says Christine Olsson, the daughter of Stina Soldin. Stina is 100 years old and is already getting the care she needs – at a home for geriatric care. The municipality says the mistake was made when they didn’t check in what century Stina was born.