Norway attacked?

Tom, My thoughts and prayers are certainly with the people of Norway, and especially with those directly affected by this evil and heinous act. I was completely surprised to learn this was carried out by a native Norwegian, and that he didn't target immigrants but rather his fellow citizens. I tend to agree with Frank II in terms of the punishment, however most western societies don't operate that way. If he tried this in China, the results would be swift and predictable!

Truly a horrible, goal-oriented mass murder by a totally deranged, cruel individual. My heart goes out to the all the victims and their families and friends. Norway is certainly grieving today.

Not to split hairs, but since when did neo-nazis claim to be Christian? That is a new one! They are just stupid white men, with a few stupid white women and they are even more prevalent in the US than they are in Europe. The neo-nazi and white supremacists websites will turn your stomach. No where I have seen them claim to be Christian. Now, you have the whacky fundamentalist preacher out there in Kansas who claims to be Christian but is so filled with hate, it is pitiful and disgusting. Enough hate to go around for all kinds of groups all over the world. Wish they would all just go live in a cave somewhere. As to this mass murder, it is too early to speculate the whys.

According to the BBC Anders Breivik, the suspect the police have in custody, described himself on his facebook page as a conservative and a Christian. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14259989 Extremism comes in all shapes and creeds, unfortunately. Alan

My take is that he hated the current Labor government and not only wanted to destroy it but its future leaders as well. (The shooting of the young people on the island.) Now, for real justice, why bother with the courts. He's admitted doing it. So....take him back to the island, but this time, give the guns to the parents of the slain kids. Let's see how well he does. The murder of children is never justified.

It is most definitely a very sad day for Norway and for the world. No one in their right mind could possibly see this as a solution. That goes for radicals of any religion.

It truly is devastating. I have college classmate whose family is from Norway. She has relatives who at 3:30 EDT today still were unsure about the safety of members of their family. I hope that she hears soon that they are all safe. Pam

Looks like the guy's going to make a statement tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised if he had some specific grievance against the governing party, but we'll see. Farmers tend to be more politically active in Europe than in the US (look how often French farmers block the roads with their tractors), but violence is extremely rare, and certainly nothing to this magnitude.

as a Dane, we can see on tv that it was a norweigen national who did this horrific thing, Denmark and norway are very close, owing to the fact the norway was once a part of denmark- tommorow monday the man who did this horrific thing will appear in court and tell his story.... The whole of scandinavia is in chock over this terrible thing.
the man had planned it for many yrs. denmark sends their condolonces to the norweigen nation. who have lost their children, adults .

I had studied in Oslo last summer on a "Fund for Teachers" fellowship. I was excited to visit Norway after seeing Rick's DVD and reading his books in preparation. And the city of Oslo surpassed my high expectations. What a happy city filled with friendly, peaceful people enjoying life. I felt so incredibly safe there, whether I was having an ice cream cone by government buildings, hiking in the forest, swimming in the lakes and in the Oslofjord. A beautiful, open and welcoming country. It is so horrifying to see this happen in a place where I once felt so extremely safe and secure. I worry that Norway will never be the same . . . I wish them much peace, love and strength in this difficult time. And regarding the Neo-Nazi terrorism . . .and any terrorism, hopefully they can make some changes to protect against future attacks while still remaining open and friendly Norway. Such tragedy in the city that is proud to house the Nobel Peace Center . . . :(

The one thing I remember the most about Oslo, is how quiet it is for a capital city. Almost no car traffic, you can actually hear yourself think, and ya don't even have to look both ways before crossing the street!

Horrific situation, to say the least. Especially as someone who has been to Norway and loved it, I have not been able to stop thinking about these brural murders for days. Planting the bomb and killing the innocents in the building would have been terrible enough.....but then what happened on the island takes it to an entirely other, sick, evil and twisted level. Norway is beautiful and peaceful; I would have thought it's the LAST place where something like this would happen. Hunting down those poor teens as if they were animals?? Boggles the mind. I can't even imagine the sheet terror these defenseless people felt. I was also very disturbed to read that the max sentence would be 21 years....but was reasured when I read (in The Wall Street Journal) that it can be extended IF the person is judged to be a potential danger to society. IF this sick SOB doesn't fit that bill, then NO ONE does. Good for you, Tom, that you are going ahead with your trip; I would do the same. We can't give in and cower to terrorists of ANY KIND. My heart goes out to the victims, the injured, their families and all the people of Norway who are grieving.

It's another terrible and frightening example of what can happen when the political and social climates are such that they allow fear and hate to become mainstream. Add to that a little patriotism, some nationalism, a dose of fundamentalist extremism, a loser like this guy or Timothy McVeigh & you've got real big problems. The world would be a much better place if we could just try to understand one another and figure out how to live together instead of finding new ways to hate each other. This goes for the regular person on the street, the elected official, and anyone else in society. I'm afraid that, even in this country, hate is becoming much more mainstream and acceptable.

@Michael in Des Moines...well said. And it's that mainstream hatred and fear that produces the McVeighs and Breiviks of the world. Scary part is that these are NOT stupid men; to do what Breivik did took planning, coordination, dedication, determination, intelligence, etc. Imagine if he put ALL of that into GOOD, into charitable work, into HELPING people, etc.......

Actually, from what I've read, while other parts of Europe have these "mainstream" extremist parties, Norway's version is pretty small and came out immediatley denouncing the act and the person. Maybe I missed something, but I think that this is why the Norwegians are all so stunned. Pam

You're correct about the conservative party this extremist belonged to...it's a mainstream political party and is not regarded as extreme in any way...similar to Republicans here. But perhaps you did miss something, because Norway has had a problem with right-wing extremists for a long time, as has the rest of Scandinavia. We're all familiar with Neo-Nazi and other radical groups in Germany and France, because they're often covered in the news we read here, but it's an issue all over Europe. When I talk about hate becoming mainstream in Europe, I'm specifically talking about things like radical websites regularly visited by hundreds of thousands, extreme letters to the editor that are published, editorialized news reporting slanted against immigrants, radical leaders and parties coming to power through a legitimate political process, Draconian laws against ethnic and religious minorities, etc., etc. And this may make some of you angry, but groups like the Minutemen and the Tea Party (which is not a political party) in the US are nothing but a bunch of extremists in my view. They foster a sentiment that is radically opposed to normal cultural changes. They're hostile and should be vigorously opposed before they get a permanent foot hold in this country. So far, we haven't banned face veils or mosques (not that there haven't been attempts), but we have enacted anti-immigrant legislation in several states that now makes even the most insignificant of humanitarian efforts to help people criminal. Indeed, mainstreaming hate isn't a good thing. BTW, the 9/11 hijackers weren't stupid either. And, they shared something in common with this terrorist in Norway...increasingly acceptable and/or mainstream views that are actually quite radical and dangerous.