Monday October 7, 2002, Rekjavik, Iceland

Iceland's hardcore band Minus

One of Iceland's hotest bands Minus at the Blue Lagoon in near Keflavik. Minus was one of the first hardcore bands in Iceland. However their latest album Jesus Christ Bobby, a collaboration with Curver, creates a hybrid of electronica and progressive hardcore sounds and could well be the next big think to come out of Iceland.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Wednesday April 17, 2002, New York City, New York, USA

Botox Party

This gorgeous pug was one guest at this Botox party who had wished to part with her lovely wrinkles. The gathering took place at the home of Kathi Rothman on East 70th Street in Manhattan. Administering the botox was Dr. Joseph Eviatar. Botox treatments promise to reduce wrinkles by paralyzing muscles.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Thursday April 10, 2003, Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden

Katarina Schoenbaum - Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Nina Schoenbaum at Radiumhemet, the specialized cancer treatment center at the Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden. Having completed a course of chemotherapy, followed by surgery, now she will be receiving radiation treatment. The first step in the radiation treatment was an examination by doctors and two physicists (yes, physicists) to determine the precise area to be radiated and exactly how much radiation would be applied. A mask was then carved from a 3/4 inch thick plate of steel to the exact outline of the area to be radiated ensuring that no radiation would spill over onto normal tissue. Each treatment took only twenty minutes or so. The painstaking part was getting Nina precisely positioned, to the millimeter, on the apparatus. Following radiation Nina would receive yet another course of chemotherapy.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Saturday July 19, 2003, Stockholm, Sweden

SWEDES VOTE ON THE EURO

July 19, 2003 Stockholm, Sweden: Rosalin, age 6, with a balloon bearing the "JA!" emblem of the pro-Euro forces. Pro-Euro campaigners were out in force working the crowded beach at Stockholm's Rålamshovparken. Immigrants like the Rosalin and her family, who came here from Peru, are tending to be much more receptive to adoption of the Euro than native-born Swedes who see it as a threat to their culture and an invitation to yet more regulation of their social policies by the European Union.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Monday August 4, 2003, Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden

One Woman's Heroic Struggle Against Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Hanna and Katarina Schoenbaum at their summer home.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Friday September 26, 2003, Stockholm, Sweden

Sweden's Economy

Sweden has had only limited, and relatively recent, experience with immigration. As a result the ethnicity and culture of Swedes remains remarkably uniform. This is especially true outside of Stockholm. A graduation ceremony from a Stockholm pre-school.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Tuesday May 18, 2004, Uppsala, Sweden

Happy Cows of automated cow milking

Gunnar Pettersson, a senior researcher at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). Behind him is an automatic system that lays down "bedding" in the cow's sleeping quarters used to keep them clean and comfortable. This is just one component of a fully automated dairy farm developed here. Time was when dairy farmers using so-called modern industrialized methods looked down their noses at Argentine ranchers who still range-fed cattle or their Swedish counterparts who are actually concerned with bovine welfare. Nobody's laughing now. Mad cow disease put an end to all that. Now British ranchers are sending fact-finding missions to Argentina and dairy farmers across Europe are adopting methods developed here in Sweden. This is the story of the "happy cows" at the Swedish Agricultural University (SLU) outside of Uppsala. Unlike industrial models of dairy farming that still predominate in the U.S. which see the cows as little more than machine parts to be pushed along, injected, fattened up the cheapest possible way and finally squeezed of their milk, here the cow's cooperation, happiness if you will, is the driving force behind the assembly line. The system begins with dairy cows that are raised at the automated farm. Each cow wears a magnetic identity necklace with which a central computer tracks it's every move, how much it eats, how much milk it produces, everything down to the last detail. While the computer can limit the cow's behavior, it's the cows that decide when they go inside or outside, when and how much they eat or sleep and when they will be milked. Activities are enabled at automated stations activated by a nudge of the cow's nose. Over the years SLU has developed systems that together automate every aspect of the dairy farming process. The cow's sleeping quarters are kept clean and hospitable with "bedding" (a sawdust mixture) that is laid-down automatically.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Wednesday January 5, 2005, Solna, Sweden

Sweden Identifies Corpses Returned from Tsunami Ravaged Southern Asia

Forensic Pathologist Dr. Henrik Druid at the Karolinka Institute where the grim job of identifying the dead from South Asia is underway. Behind him is a coffin (draped with the Swedish flag) bearing the corpse of one Swede killed by the tsunami. The first six bodies were returned last night be Swedish military aircraft.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Thursday January 6, 2005, Bromma, Stockholm, Sweden

Swedish Community Copes with Tragedy of South Asian Tsunami

Birgitta Solheim-Ekwall, Director of the Smedslätten School, located in the Bromma suburb of Stockholm. This community was particularly hard-hit by the tsunami in South Asia, as large numbers of people from Bromma were vacationing there. Now Ms. Solheim-Ekwall and her colleagues at other schools in the area must prepare the students to face empty desks, friends who won't be coming back, or others who may themselves have lost loved ones. Ms. Solheim-Ekwall put together a team consisting of a doctor, a social worker and two special-needs teachers to make a treatment plan for the whole school community. They've been in consultation with groups specializing in child-care and trauma care, St.Lucas and Save the Children. An open meeting about the tsunami is scheduled for January 7th for every family (about 300) in the school district. As winter break is still in effect, Ms. Solheim-Ekwall expects only 100 of the families to attend.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Thursday February 3, 2005, Stockholm, Sweden

Swedish pension system

Sweden's Premium Pension system, or PPM, started in 1998, allows taxpayers to invest 2.5% of their income among a selection of 676 approved funds. A further 16.5% of their income remains in a guaranteed benefits public pension program.

Christer Elmehagen, Managing Director of AMF, Sweden's largest private pension fund. Mr. Elmehagen is a strong supporter of the PPM system. He bemoans the fact that more Swedes, either by intent or omission, aren't participating in their new investment options. He would also like the government to release the names of pensioners so funds like AMF can have a direct financial relationship with them.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Elsie Petren, author and composer of the childrens's tale Kommisarie Tax

Elsie Petrén, author and composer of the childrens's tale KOMMISSARIE TAX, in the recording studio with ROLF LASSGARD, laying down tracks for a CD version of the story entitled, " KOMMISSARIE TAX - 10 lAtar och ett mysterium." Mr. Lassgard is one of several big-name performers adding their talent. The CD will be be released on April 17, 2004 with a performance at Junibacken.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Thursday February 3, 2005, Stockholm, Sweden

Swedish pension system

Sweden's Premium Pension system, or PPM, started in 1998, allows taxpayers to invest 2.5% of their income among a selection of 676 approved funds. A further 16.5% of their income remains in a guaranteed benefits public pension program.

A poster advertising a pension fund in the lobby of the AMF building, in Stockholm. AMF is Sweden's largest private pension fund.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Thursday February 24, 2005, Stockholm, Sweden

Alternative Pain Therapies for Children

Frej Wells, 7, has his head massaged by his mother Maria Schultz to relieve severe pain from migraine headaches. The massage is taking place at the end of the school day in the massage therapy room at their school, the Lilla Akadamien, in Stockholm. Frej is also receiving medication to help with his migraines but the massage helps during severe episodes.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Wednesday March 9, 2005, Hall, Sweden

Swedish prison system

Hall Prison, located just outside Sodertalje, about 50 miles south of Stockholm, is a maximum security facility housing Sweden's most violent offenders. An intense debate concerning the prison system here was set off in August of 2004 when Tommy Olson, a convicted cop-killer and several accomplices staged a dramatic break-out from Hall Prison with the help of guns and cell-phones they had gotten from corrupt prison staff. They were re-captured just days later after a nationwide manhunt. Now Swedes must decide the future of their prisons, whether they will follow the American model of tough punishment or maintain an approach designed to maintain the humanity of even the most hardened prisoner. For now, practical measures such as x-ray screening and background checks of staff members, have been adopted. Construction of a high-security prison wing is under consideration.

A prison cell in the isolation wing. These cells are used to hold inmates who must be segregated from the prison population, usually for their own protection. Inmates here are locked in 23 hours per day, with one hour allowed in an enclosed pen for exercise.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Wednesday March 9, 2005, Hall, Sweden

Swedish prison system

Hall Prison, located just outside Sodertalje, about 50 miles south of Stockholm, is a maximum security facility housing Sweden's most violent offenders. It's Mr. Nilsson's job to keep security procedures and technology one step ahead of inmates' efforts to escape. An intense debate concerning the prison system here was set off in August of 2004 when Tommy Olson, a convicted cop-killer and several accomplices made a dramatic break-out from Hall Prison. They had gotten guns and cell-phones from corrupt prison staff. Now Swedes must decide the future of their prisons, whether they will follow the American model of tough punnishment or maintain an approach designed to maintain the humanity of even the most hardened prisoner. For now, practical measures such as x-ray screening of staff members, have been adopted. Construction of a high-security prison wing is under consideration.

Roger Nilsson, Security Warden at Sweden's Anstalten Hall Prison.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Monday October 7, 2002, Rekjavik, Iceland

Iceland's hardcore band Minus

One of Iceland's hotest bands Minus at the Blue Lagoon in near Keflavik. Minus was one of the first hardcore bands in Iceland. However their latest album Jesus Christ Bobby, a collaboration with Curver, creates a hybrid of electronica and progressive hardcore sounds and could well be the next big think to come out of Iceland.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Thursday March 10, 2005, Stockholm, Sweden

Domestic Violence in Sweden

Eva Hassel Calais is assistant to the director of ROKS, short for Riksorganisationen för Kvinnojourer i Sverige (National Organization for Women's Shelters in Sweden). The group runs shelters all over Sweden for women needing protection from abusive spouses. In spite of Sweden's reputation for sexual equality, Ms. Hassel Calais explains that Sweden still suffers from income and other disparities between the sexes. It was also only in the 1980's when Swedish law first enabled women to file complaints for domestic violence. Previously only crimes that were observed could be prosecuted.

Eva Hassel Calais.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Monday March 21, 2005, Stockholm, Sweden

Domestic Violence in Sweden

Maria Carlshamre, member of the European Parliament from Sweden. Ms. Carlshamre is a former TV newscaster hosting a morning news show broadcast over SVT1 in Sweden. She went public with her own story of spousal abuse at the hands of her now-former husband, an extraordinary act for a public figure even in Sweden. Now, as a member of the European Parliament she has made domestic violence and the rights of women her principal issue.

Maria Carlshamre.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Friday March 11, 2005, Kolmarden, Sweden

Swedish prison system

Kolmarden Prison is Sweden's newest and lightest-security prison. Occupying a former sanitorium in a picturesque section of the country, Kolmarden Prison houses only adult male non-violent offenders, imprisoned for tax evasion, financial offenses etc. Prisoners are counted morning and night, but it is left to the inmates themselves to close their doors at night. Prisoners sentenced here are left to their own devices, public transportation etc, to get here on the appointed date. In fact, the facility has little in the way of physical security. Keeping inmates from walking away, besides the initial selection process, is the certainty that they will serve out their sentences in a much less pleasant facility if they are recaptured. Even so, one inmate did simply walk away in January of 2005. Finding him was left to the police. The facility can hold 185 inmates but presently has only 116. There are 41 staff members. It boasts the lowest cost per prisoner; 800 Swedish Kronors per day.

Stig is serving a sentence for financial crimes. He was, as he says, a hedge-fund manager. Which one? "It's not listed," he replies. The cable TV in his room provides a real-time stock market ticker. He complains that for months he has had to draw his own financial charts.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Monday March 21, 2005, Stockholm, Sweden

Domestic Violence in Sweden

Maria Carlshamre, member of the European Parliament from Sweden. Ms. Carlshamre is a former TV newscaster hosting a morning news show broadcast over SVT1 in Sweden. She went public with her own story of spousal abuse at the hands of her now-former husband, an extraordinary act for a public figure even in Sweden. Now, as a member of the European Parliament she has made domestic violence and the rights of women her principal issue.

Maria Carlshamre with her son.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Friday May 6, 2005, Stockholm, Sweden

Gudrun Schyman, Swedish Feminist Party

Tobias Andersson, 27, from UmeŒ (pronouced oo MAY oh) in northern Sweden (wearing gray sweatshirt) and Magnus Eriksson, 24, from Stockholm, Sweden (wearing black t-shirt). Andersson and Eriksson are the founders of the organization called PIRATBYRAN (Pirates Bay). They can be found on the web at: http://www.piratbyran.org/ They are photographed at a video gaming arcade in Sšdermalm, Stockholm. PIRATBYRAN champions the free exchange of information including file sharing. Their website argues the case for file sharing in all it's ramifications. On the website one can also find everything needed to find and download all manner of digital files including software, movies and music. PIRATBYRAN is not anarchistic nor do they oppose commercialism. Their arguments in favor of file sharing center upon the free exchange of information. They maintain, for one, that it is in large measure the goose that creates the golden egg. One illustration given by Mr. Eriksson concerns Adobe's Photoshop software. Carrying a retail price of US$600, Eriksson points out that Photoshop is obviously aimed at a commerical market; professional photographers, corporations, advertising agencies etc. At that price Adobe can't seriously be expecting any college students to buy it. Eriksson maintains that Photoshop is the world's best selling photo editing software precisely because young people have learned to use it using, by and large, pirated copies, young people who will continue to use it throughout their professional careers. http://www.piratbyran.org/

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Friday March 11, 2005, Kolmarden, Sweden

Swedish prison system

Kolmarden Prison is Sweden's newest and lightest-security prison. Occupying a former sanitorium in a picturesque section of the country, Kolmarden Prison houses only adult male non-violent offenders; tax evasion, financial offenses etc. Prisoners are counted morning and night, but it is left to the inmates themselves to close their doors at night. Prisoners sentenced here are left to their own devices, public transportation etc, to get here on the appointed date. In fact, the facility has little in the way of physical security. Keeping inmates from walking away, besides the initial selection process, is the certainty that they will serve out their sentences in a much less pleasant facility if they are recaptured. Even so, one inmate did simply walk away in January of 2005. Finding him was left to the police. The facility can hold 185 inmates but presently has only 116. There are 41 staff members. It boasts the lowest cost per prisoner; 800 Swedish Kronors per day.

Cecelia Holmquist is a case worker at Kolmarden Prison. There are no guards here and inmates perform virtually all support services, landscaping, cooking, maintenance etc.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Tuesday May 18, 2004, Uppsala, Sweden

Happy Cows of automated cow milking

Gunnar Pettersson, a senior researcher at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). Behind him is an automatic system that lays down "bedding" in the cow's sleeping quarters used to keep them clean and comfortable. This is just one component of a fully automated dairy farm developed here. Time was when dairy farmers using so-called modern industrialized methods looked down their noses at Argentine ranchers who still range-fed cattle or their Swedish counterparts who are actually concerned with bovine welfare. Nobody's laughing now. Mad cow disease put an end to all that. Now British ranchers are sending fact-finding missions to Argentina and dairy farmers across Europe are adopting methods developed here in Sweden. This is the story of the "happy cows" at the Swedish Agricultural University (SLU) outside of Uppsala. Unlike industrial models of dairy farming that still predominate in the U.S. which see the cows as little more than machine parts to be pushed along, injected, fattened up the cheapest possible way and finally squeezed of their milk, here the cow's cooperation, happiness if you will, is the driving force behind the assembly line. The system begins with dairy cows that are raised at the automated farm. Each cow wears a magnetic identity necklace with which a central computer tracks it's every move, how much it eats, how much milk it produces, everything down to the last detail. While the computer can limit the cow's behavior, it's the cows that decide when they go inside or outside, when and how much they eat or sleep and when they will be milked. Activities are enabled at automated stations activated by a nudge of the cow's nose. Over the years SLU has developed systems that together automate every aspect of the dairy farming process. The cow's sleeping quarters are kept clean and hospitable with "bedding" (a sawdust mixture) that is laid-down automatically.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Wednesday January 5, 2005, Solna, Sweden

Sweden Identifies Corpses Returned from Tsunami Ravaged Southern Asia

Forensic Pathologist Dr. Henrik Druid, in blue scrubs, Dr. Jan Heidendahl,in green scrubs, a forensic odentologist, and Stefan Josefsson, without mask, an autopsy assistant, at the Karolinka Institute where the grim job of identifying the dead from South Asia is underway. The first six bodies were returned last night be Swedish military aircraft.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Saturday July 3, 2004, Solna, Sweden

Karin Nilsson living with breast cancer

Karin Nilsson at Radiumhemet receiving her regular infusion of chemotherapy. Karin had first noticed a lump on her breast in March of 2004. It grew rapidly. For a month she was too scared and in denial to see a doctor. By May she was diagnosed with breast cancer. At this point it's too early to know how treatable or untreatable her condition is so Karin is trusting in the process.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Wednesday November 26, 2003, Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden

Dr. Jonas Bergh

Dr. Jonas Bergh photographed at Radiumhemet, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Wednesday December 29, 2004, Stockholm, Sweden

Swedes Pray for Loved Ones Feared Lost to Southeast Asian Tsunami

Maja Persson, 32, and her stepfather and mother, Göran and Solveig Uhlander, 54 and 55 respectively, hold a tense and agonizing vigil at the Uhlander home in the Haninge suburb of Stockholm, awaiting any scraps of news about their brother/son Mats Nordin and his wife Anna Maria Nordin, both age 36, and their son Noah, age 2, all of whom have dissappeared without a trace in Thailand. They've been distributing pictures of those missing to newspapers and websites and pulling any strings they can to get news or help in Thailand. Mr. Nordin's employer, Cisco Systems, has offered to fly the family to Thailand but they're deeply torn and fearful by the prospect of going there. The picture in Maja's lap is of Noah as a baby.

Credit: Rob Schoenbaum / Polaris

Rob Schoenbaum