Storsjöodjuret Cam Permits?
Posted by: Loren Coleman on February 2nd, 2009
Governments are figuring out clever ways to make cryptozoology pay, it would seem.
Hear the breaking news about the county board in Sweden requiring fines be paid for trying to film the lake monsters named Storsjöodjuret? What’s the world coming to?
Sweden’s legendary Great Lake Sea Monster (Storsjöodjuret) remains the focus of photographers hunting for its image despite a Jämtland county council order banning cameras on the shores of Storsjön in Östersund in northern Sweden.
Svenstavik local business association has continued its surveillance of the lake in the hope of the spotting the famed ‘monster’ without permission from the Jämtland County Administrative Board (Länsstyrelsen).
Pictures from cameras set up on the lake’s shores have been published on the association’s homepage and have raised the interest of the council who have issued fines.
“When we found out about the camera surveillance undertaken without a permit we immediately conducted a review. The association has since been encouraged to apply for a permit,” said Åsa Johansson at Jämtland County Administrative Board.
After completing a review of the case the board has agreed to permit four cameras to watch for the legendary beast but they are to be located under the water surface of the lake.
Any camera surveillance above the water’s surface has been ruled in breach of regulations.
For the rest of the article, see here.
What do you think, are the members of the Länsstyrelsen:
(1) Spoilsports;
(2) Clueless;
(3) In league with the business association to drum up publicity;
(4) Figured out another way to get money for their board; or
(5) Plain and simple, just stupid?
Full credit to Robin, last name unknown, at “My Strange Blog” for the heads up.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
I could kind of understand if the lake was tiny and part of a small community. Most small communities can’t handle large groups. The fee/fines would be put into place to drum up money for the area and to keep only the truly devoted people around searching. But I googled the lake…5th largest in Sweden. The town is descent in size and can handle large groups. The board consists of true politicians. Their world cannot believe that anything could happen without them. So, just so that no one forgets, them pass some stupid ruling that is going to make it harder to catch a glimpse of this thing. Oh, almost forgot, 2,4 and 5 with emphasis on 2 and 5.
It’s just a way to bring in more revenue for the community. I’ve been to Sweden and it’s a very socialist country. When I was there, workers never put in more than 32 hours a week of work. The reason why? Any hours over 32 require them to pay 89% tax on anything over 32 hours. Basically it discourages hard work LOL. I was amazed by this fact. This country is the epitome of socialism in a free society. So I see this as just a revenue creating thing for this whole “fine” ordeal.
@Greg102
Being from Sweden, I agree with your assessment – Sweden is a socialist country, and has been so for a very long time (which often pisses me off when Americans talk trash about socialist countries never being successful).
However, the idea that working more than 32 hours a week automatically leads to 89% taxation is not true. It depends on what your wages are in the first place. Of course there are diminishing returns the more you earn, that is the whole point of the system in place. It does not (from personal experience) discourage hard work, in fact I work twice as hard to get my money.
–
Regarding Storsjöodjuret, I translated at least one previous article about it (having lived in Östersund, where Storsjön is located, it is pretty familiar).
The local council has always had a positive attitude (very likely tounge in cheek) about the supposed animal, even putting it up as an endangered animal (outlawing any attempts to capture it, as mentioned in the article). It is the city mascot, readily seen on everything from businesses, as the letterhead of official documents, to trashcans.
If you actually read the article, it seems to be more a problem with not having a permit for putting up a camera station monitoring a public area.
In other words, it’s just bureaucracy. What is hard to understand about that? I take pride in whatever sense of right to privacy we have.
To “Xero”
I wasn’t trashing Sweden by any means. If you took it that way, I sincerely apologize. I was just pointing out what others told me while I was there back in 1989, and this leads to many individuals getting “black money” as they called it which was unreported income so they didn’t have to pay the outrageous tax rates when they worked over 32 hours. “Free” healthcare and government run programs aren’t “free”. Tax rates are out of control in many countries, including the USA in my opinion. I’m sure there’s lots of hard workers there, but when the system is set up to overtax people, I view that as a burden and government over stepping their role in a free society. Let me be clear I thoroughly enjoyed my time there!!!! sorry if this was a little off topic. My whole point was in a socialist country, government taxes just about everything and finds a way for more revenue for the system, so I wasn’t surprised to see that they were charging fines in this case to fund the system.
Time for another Swede to join the debate.
Firstly, this is not a political blog so I will try to keep this as non-political as possible. Secondly, I think the original article has been interpreted in negative way and finally, I think there is a bigger chance that the Swedish government would fund a search team for the “storsjö-odjuret” than most other governments in the western hemisphere would do for cryptids in their countries.
Politically we are more left than the USA. Which has served us well in since WW2. Our healthcare and educational system is far better than in the States (well, figures are never telling the truth but let’s follow UN’s statistics). I don’t pay much tax and my American friends are amazed that I have with their standards in mind, a huge salary and I don’t have to pay for health care or my child’s university. To be pragmatic I would say that average Joe of Sweden has a better life (economically that is) than his counterpart in the US. CEO salaries are probably far higher in the States than here. We also provide tens of thousands of refugees from Iraq with a home and healthcare. Further, I have never seen such poverty and misery in any western country as I have seen in the States. Well, let’s leave it here before we start to hate each other:)
The article is about public surveillance cameras rather than it being illegal to film the storsjöodjuret. I am happy that integrity is an important matter in Sweden. I think that the US is a big brother society compared to Sweden. However, that is objective.
Finally, I think authorities and the entire Swedish society is very progressive and pragmatic. ´
Ps. Every time I visit the States I have a great time. Hospitable is a word I would use to describe the good people of the US.
I wonder if Scotland is next in going with something like this???
Seriously, though…
Loren: I go with “Number 4.” 🙂
Almost everybody, if you listen to everybody outside the US, has it better than the US. I know – I lived in Europe for several years. However, the US is the country with millions and millions and millions of immigrants every year.
There’s clearly something here that drives millions every year to immigrate here, and it AIN’T socialism.
So before you Europeans turn this into a bash-the-US thread, please reread the original blog. It has to do with banning or restricting cameras on a lake in Sweden. It is not about the respective economies and/or political systems of the US, Sweden or any other nation.
Whatever the reason for it, the the members of the Länsstyrelsen are acting silly over this.
@Greg102
I’m sorry if I came across as confrontational, it was not my intent (I’ve been spending too much time on American right-wing forums).
Indeed, “svarta pengar” (tax evasion, essentially) exists. It is by no means unique to us. I’m hazy on the exact dates, but I think Sweden was experiencing a financial crisis at the time you visited, which could explain your impressions.
Your views on taxation echoes what I’ve understood is a fairly common complaint in America (and indeed here also). People who complain here, however, are usually astonishingly ignorant as to how much their education, living standards and previous hospital visits would have cost them, had the system not existed. In short, through ignorance, they’d want to have the cake (welfare system) and eat it too (not pay taxes).
When shown the costs, they usually admit that they’d just like to have more money in the bank, so to speak, not actually kill the welfare system.
I would argue that a greater transparency as to what an individuals yearly taxes actually fund would be very helpful in educating people (and making it clear to them if they are funding something they strongly oppose, so that they can take political action).
PS: it’s Xeno (greek prefix, meaning stranger or unknown). 😉
@Storfot
I agree, from what the article says there is no real problem for the continued research on Storsjöodjuret. The people behind the research station just seem to have neglected to fill out the right forms.
I’d just like to note here that the research project is fairly ambitious. The cameras installed include a FLIR thermographic camera, two high resolution cameras and two analogue cameras.
The last camera is a low resolution one to survey the island itself (probably to protect the equipment and prevent hoaxes). This is most likely a camera that is in violation to regulations (as stated in the article).
The observation stations webpage (in english) is: http://www.storsjoodjuret.nu/index.html?language=en
@Sergio
Have you even read mine, or Storfots original commentary? What, exactly, is silly about making sure the research station is not breaking the law by monitoring a public place?
I did. I noticed that the original blog post had either a serious misunderstanding, or a nasty disposition, and tried to fill in another option. Then I responded to what Greg said about my country. You are very knee-jerk in your response here.
Maybe not Scotland and Nessie, but most certainly Cannock Chase and big cats in Staffordshire, England.
When we asked the Forestry Commission if we could set up a couple of nights on the Chase, they at first could not figure out a price to charge us, it ended up at a £100. But they wanted to inspect all our equipment before hand, check daily how many photographs had been taken. And to top it all any photographs taken to be handed in!
I would have preferred a fee, and kept our own photographs.
So what are the Forestry Commission on the Cannock Chase frightened of us folks catching on camera – the mind boggles!
sorry for stirring up the pot here. I was just simply saying I wasn’t surprised that with a socialist government they were charging “fines” as governments will nickel and dime you on just about everything, especially if they are socialist. I’m not here to argue the pros and cons of socialism. At the end of the day, I do hope they capture a photo though 🙂