7/22 Remember the Victims

On this day in 2011, a right-wing extremist and xenophobe went on a rampage and killing spree in Norway, first killing 8 people in Oslo City center and later killing 69 more, mostly children, on the island of Utøya.

Remember the victims!

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In Memory of Utøya and Oslo - July 22, 2011

On this day 77 children, teenagers and adults were massacred by a crazed fascist on a killing rampage in Oslo city centre and on the island of Utøya in Norway.

Remember the victims!

Remember the Victims

On this day four years ago a right wing extremist and xenophobe went on a rampage and killing spree in Norway, first killing 8 people in Oslo City center and later killing 69 more, mostly children, on the island of Utøya.

Remember the victims!

Jon Vegard Lervåg, 32, Oslo * Ida Marie Hill, 34, Oslo * Hanne Ekroll Løvlie, 30, Oslo * Tove Åshill Knutsen, 56, Oslo * Hanna M Orvik Endresen, 61, Oslo * Kai Hauge, 32, Oslo * Anne Lise Holter, 51, Våler * Kjersti Berg Sand, 26, Nord-Odal * Karrar Mustafa Qasim, 19, Vestby * Andreas Edvardsen, 18, Sarpsborg * Ronja Søttar Johansen, 17, Vefsn * Emil Okkenhaug, 15, Levanger * Åsta Sofie Helland Dahl, 16, Sortland * Monica Iselin Didriksen, 18, Sund * Rune Havdal, 43, Øvre Eiker * Tore Eikeland, 21, Bergen * Espen Jørgensen, 17, Bodø * Karin Elena Holst, 15, Rana * Aleksander Aas Eriksen, 16, Meråker * Victoria Stenberg, 17, Nes * Ruth Benedicte Vatndal Nilsen, 15, Tønsberg * Isabel Victoria Green Sogn, 17, Oslo * Ida Beathe Rogne, 17, Østre Toten * Elisabeth Trørnnes Lie, 16, Halden * Monica Elisabeth Bøsei, 45, Hole * Håvard Vederhus, 21, Oslo * Carina Borgund, 18, Oslo * Ingrid Berg Heggelund, 18, Ås * Tarald Kuven Mjelde, 18, Osterøy * Porntip Ardam, 21, Oslo * Andrine Bakkene Espeland, 16, Fredrikstad * Torljus Jakobsen Blattmann, 17, Kristiansand * Jamil Rafal Mohamad Jamil, 20, Eigersund * Tina Sukuvara, 18, Vadsø * Fredrik Lund Schjetne, 18, Eidsvoll * Steinar Jessen, 16, Alta * Lejla Selaci, 17, Fredrikstad * Henrik Rasmussen, 18, Hadsel * Thomas Margido Antonsen, 16, Oslo * Mona Abdinur, 18, Oslo * Anders Kristansen, 18, Bardu * Gunnar Linaker, 23, Bardu * Ismail Haji Ahmed, 19, Hamar * Trond Berntsen, 51, Øvre Eiker * Sharidyn Svebakk-Bøhn, 14, Drammen * Silje Merete Fjellbu, 17, Tinn * Hanne A.Balch Fjalestad, 43, Lunner * Bano Abobakar Rashid, 18, Nesodden * Syvert Knudsen, 17, Lyngdal * Diderik Aamodt Olsen, 19, Nesodden * Simon Sæbø, 18, Salangen * Synne Røyneland, 18, Oslo * Birgitte Smetbak, 15, Nøtterøy * Margrethe Bøyum Kløven, 16, Bærum * Even Flugstad Malmedal, 18, Gjøvik * Tamta Lipartelliani, 23, Georgien * Kevin Daae Berland, 15, Askøy * Silje Stamneshagen, 18, Askøy * Hanne Kristine Fridtun, 19, Stryn * Håkon Ødegaard, 17, Trondheim * Sondre Furseth Dale, 17, Haugesund * Henrik André Pedersen, 27, Porsanger * Eivind Hovden, 15, Tokke * Rolf Christopher Johansen Perreau, 25, Trondheim * Sverre Flåte Bjørkavåg, 28, Sula * Eva Kathinka Lütken, 17, Sarpsborg * Maria Maagerø Johannesen, 17, Nøtterøy * Modupe Ellen Awoyemi, 15, Drammen * Lene Maria Bergum, 19, Namsos * Guro Vartdal Håvol, 18, Ørsta * Marianne Sandvik, 16, Stavanger * Andreas Dalby Grønnesby, 17, Stange * Sondre Kjøren, 17, Orkdal * Bendik Rosnæes Ellingsen, 18, Rygge * Gizem Dogan, 17, Trondheim * Snorre Haller, 30, Trondheim * Johannes Buø, 14, Mandal

Remember the Victims of Oslo & Utøya

"If one man can show so much hate, imagine how much love we all can show together."
Helle Gannestad in a tweet on July 23, 2011.

Three years have passed since a single, determined, right-wing extremist with delusions of grandeur killed 8 people in Oslo city center and 69 others, mostly children, on the island of Utøya in Norway.

Remember and honor the victims!

7/22 Remember the Victims

"Utøya, 20110726. Kveldsutsikt"
Photo courtesy of Eirik Helland Urke / Dagbladet

"If one man can show so much hate, imagine how much love we all can show together." 
Helle Gannestad in a tweet on July 23, 2011.

Two years have today passed since a single, determined, right-wing extremist with delusions of grandeur killed 8 people in Oslo city centre and 69 adults and children on the island of Utøya in Norway.

If you are able, please take the time to visit the Stavkirken (SLurl) (updated) in Second Norway to honor the memory of the victims.

The Verdict Against A.B.B.

On August 24 2012, the Oslo District court delivered it´s verdict in the case of the Norwegian mass-murderer and terrorist A.B.B. I was too preoccupied with my first life at the time to blog about it, so this is mainly for my own records as I have been following the case on the blog since the start..

The court found A.B.B. to be guilty of all charges, i.e.

• acts of terrorism, 
• seventy-seven (77) counts of murder, 
• forty-two (42) counts of attempted murder etc.

The court also found A.B.B. to be criminally accountable for the crimes he had committed.

The court sentenced A.B.B. to a minimum of ten (10)years and a maximum of twenty-one (21) years of preventive incarceration, with the possibility of extensions with five years at a time until such time as he was seen to be fit to join society again.

A.B.B. immediately declared that he would not appeal the verdict, but the prosecutors asked for a two week period to consider an appeal. (As you may remember the prosecution primarily asked the court to find A.B.B. criminally insane and to sentence him to psychiatric care).

Hopefully the prosecutors decide not to appeal the verdict and this will have been the last we see and hear of A.B.B. forever.

The Norwegian Example

A year ago we were reached by the horrendous news that 77 people were killed through the actions of a hateful man. The world seemed to stop spinning for a few minutes as the reality of the tragical atrocities sunk in.

Today we should take the time to remember the victims and honor their memory. May they all rest in peace.

Oslo City center (8):
Jon Vegard Lervåg, 32, Oslo.
Ida Marie Hill, 34, Oslo.
Hanne Ekroll Løvlie, 30, Oslo.
Tove Åshill Knutsen, 56, Oslo.
Hanna M Orvik Endresen, 61, Oslo.
Kai Hauge, 32, Oslo.
Anne Lise Holter, 51, Våler.
Kjersti Berg Sand, 26, Nord-Odal.

Utøya (69):
Karrar Mustafa Qasim, 19, Vestby.
Andreas Edvardsen, 18, Sarpsborg.
Ronja Søttar Johansen, 17, Vefsn.
Emil Okkenhaug, 15, Levanger.
Åsta Sofie Helland Dahl, 16, Sortland.
Monica Iselin Didriksen, 18, Sund.
Rune Havdal, 43, Øvre Eiker.
Tore Eikeland, 21, Bergen.
Espen Jørgensen, 17, Bodø.
Karin Elena Holst, 15, Rana.
Aleksander Aas Eriksen, 16, Meråker.
Victoria Stenberg, 17, Nes.
Ruth Benedicte Vatndal Nilsen, 15, Tønsberg.
Isabel Victoria Green Sogn, 17, Oslo.
Ida Beathe Rogne, 17, Østre Toten.
Elisabeth Trørnnes Lie, 16, Halden.
Monica Elisabeth Bøsei, 45, Hole.
Håvard Vederhus, 21, Oslo.
Carina Borgund, 18, Oslo.
Ingrid Berg Heggelund, 18, Ås.
Tarald Kuven Mjelde, 18, Osterøy.
Porntip Ardam, 21, Oslo.
Andrine Bakkene Espeland, 16, Fredrikstad.
Torljus Jakobsen Blattmann, 17, Kristiansand.
Jamil Rafal Mohamad Jamil, 20, Eigersund.
Tina Sukuvara, 18, Vadsø.
Fredrik Lund Schjetne, 18, Eidsvoll.
Steinar Jessen, 16, Alta.
Lejla Selaci, 17, Fredrikstad.
Henrik Rasmussen, 18, Hadsel.
Thomas Margido Antonsen, 16, Oslo.
Mona Abdinur, 18, Oslo.
Anders Kristansen, 18, Bardu.
Gunnar Linaker, 23, Bardu.
Ismail Haji Ahmed, 19, Hamar.
Trond Berntsen, 51, Øvre Eiker.
Sharidyn Svebakk-Bøhn, 14, Drammen.
Silje Merete Fjellbu, 17, Tinn.
Hanne A.Balch Fjalestad, 43, Lunner.
Bano Abobakar Rashid, 18, Nesodden.
Syvert Knudsen, 17, Lyngdal.
Diderik Aamodt Olsen, 19, Nesodden.
Simon Sæbø, 18, Salangen.
Synne Røyneland, 18, Oslo.
Birgitte Smetbak, 15, Nøtterøy.
Margrethe Bøyum Kløven, 16, Bærum.
Even Flugstad Malmedal, 18, Gjøvik.
Tamta Lipartelliani, 23, Georgien.
Kevin Daae Berland, 15, Askøy.
Silje Stamneshagen, 18, Askøy.
Hanne Kristine Fridtun, 19, Stryn.
Håkon Ødegaard, 17, Trondheim.
Sondre Furseth Dale, 17, Haugesund.
Henrik André Pedersen, 27, Porsanger.
Eivind Hovden, 15, Tokke.
Rolf Christopher Johansen Perreau, 25, Trondheim.
Sverre Flåte Bjørkavåg, 28, Sula.
Eva Kathinka Lütken, 17, Sarpsborg.
Maria Maagerø Johannesen, 17, Nøtterøy.
Modupe Ellen Awoyemi, 15, Drammen.
Lene Maria Bergum, 19, Namsos.
Guro Vartdal Håvol, 18, Ørsta.
Marianne Sandvik, 16, Stavanger.
Andreas Dalby Grønnesby, 17, Stange.
Sondre Kjøren, 17, Orkdal.
Bendik Rosnæes Ellingsen, 18, Rygge.
Gizem Dogan, 17, Trondheim.
Snorre Haller, 30, Trondheim.
Johannes Buø, 14, Mandal.

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"If one man can show so much hate, imagine how much love we all can show together."
Helle Gannestad in a tweet on July 23, 2011

During the year that has followed since the horrific events the Norwegians as a people have shown the rest of the world how to deal with acts of hatred. Instead of calling out for revenge they have been standing together for peace, for love and against hate. From the parents, the spouses, the siblings and the children of the victims to the Norwegian royal family, the Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and all other Norwegians (whether indigenous or immigrants) have shown us that with love we can - and will - change the world.

If you are able please take the time to visit the Stavkirken (SLurl) in Second Norway to honor the memory of the victims and the Norwegians.

The Other Gunman

Before the Norwegian mass-murderer and terrorist A.B.B. turned up on the scene on July 22, 2011, I was telling you about a gunman in Malmö (Sweden´s third largest city) who seemed to chose his victims among the.large immigrant population of Malmö.

When I last reported about this now 40 y.o. serial-killer on December 21, 2010, (More Charges Brought Against Gunman) he was suspected of three murders and ten attempted murders stretching from 2003 until 2010.

The laborious and complicated investigation has now been concluded and the prosecutor now charges him of three murders and twelve attempted murders. A further two investigated suspicions of murders/attempted murder had to be dropped from the charges as the prosecutor believed he could not conclusively prove the gunman´s guilt in those cases.

The trial started on Monday at Malmö District Court and is expected to go on for two months.

The Malmö-gunman has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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Sweden has strict regulations concerning weapons but somehow this xenophobe succeeded in procuring a licence in 2002 and started killing only six months after he got his permit. The gunman used a Glock pistol to commit his crimes but with different barrels in an attempt to make it more difficult for the police to trace the bullets to the same gun.

The Norwegian mass-murderer A.B.B. mentioned the Malmö-gunman and a group of German neo-Nazis as examples of "patriots" taking up arms to fight multiculturalism in Europe, but the two are not believed to be linked with each other.

Musings at Haakon´s Bridge

I am not in the best of moods right now and don´t really know why. This shift in my state of mind came after the last weekend and has not eased off yet.

Following the New Years Day debacle I have found that I, more or less deliberately, have avoided mentioning Ars on my blog so as not to draw unfriendly attention to him again and that I have also raised barriers around my first life. This new found habit of self-censorship is a fundamental betrayal of myself and the reasons for the existence of this blog. It has to stop immediately!

I miss my Ars terribly and the big family I once had in my SecondLife. When I was talking with a friend the other evening and mentioned my SecondLife family he said "I have never really understood the concept of ´family´ in SecondLife." This comment made me start to think what it was all really about and I am not finished thinking about it yet, but when I am I will tell you all.

Yesterday I read a post on the Swedish blog Blanche´s Arena that "the avatar formerly known as Sven Idyll" has now shutdown yet another blog and started a new one instead.

In the new blog he tells us how he and his female "partner in crime" have been successfully researching the SecondLife blogs written by Swedes to find out the bloggers first life identity through compilation of the information they give about themselves in the blogs or elsewhere and by technical data. I am hoping that the collecting and compiling of this information has given them a sense of satisfaction, fulfillment and power so they can find more worthy causes to focus their talents on.

People who feel powerless and frustrated can get dangerous as we have seen many times before and are now witnessing in a trial in Oslo, Norway. I am doing all I can to avoid the radio and television coverage of that trial, it gets too close, and am instead sticking to the reports in the printed media (not the tabloids).

The Trial

The trial at the District Court of Oslo, Norway, against mass-murderer A.B.B. started yesterday.

A.B.B. confessed to having killed 77 people by setting off a car bomb at government headquarters in Oslo on July 22 2011 and them going on a shooting spree at a summer youth camp at the island of Utøya. However he pleaded not guilty because the acts were justified as he acted in defense of his countrymen who were in peril from Islamist supremacy and multicultural influences supported by the Norwegian political establishment.


The trial is expected to go on for 10 weeks or more, as it seems that the defense attorney Geir Lippestad has bought in to the defendants strange view of the world and is - very surprisingly - being allowed by the court to bring evidence to support it.

 Photograph: Heiko Junge/AP

The self-confessed mass-murderer was unmoved as the prosecutors stated the specific circumstances of 119 persons killed or wounded by his acts but was moved to tears when watching the video he produced and posted on YouTube shortly before going on his rampage.
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Nothing at all unexpected in this case yet, but my reactions to it surprise me. I am indifferent and disengaged, I will keep on following it I am sure, but will not post much.

Criminally Accountable

The Norwegian mass murderer A.B.B. is criminally accountable and may be sentenced to prison, according to the conclusion of the second psychiatric evaluation that was today handed to the District Court of Oslo, Norway.

A.B.B. as photographed by Heiko Junge

Psychiatrists Terje Törrisen and Agnar Aspaas conclude in their report that A.B.B. was "not psychotic at the time of the act," 

The second psychiatric evaluation was ordered by the court after the results of the first report were heavily criticized and contested by independent psychiatrists and testimony from the team of psychiatrists and other medical personnel at the prison where A.B.B. is being kept until the trial commences.

A.B.B. is to be tried on charges of terror and murder after killing 77 people in a bomb and shooting rampage in Oslo City Center and in a youth camp on the island of Utøya on 22 July, 2011.

If you should wish to read my earlier posts on this, please click A.B.B. in the "Labels" below.

A.B.B. Indicted For Terror and Murder

 Lise Aserud/AFP/Getty Images

"Norwegian prosecutors on Wednesday indicted (A.B.B.) on terror and murder charges for killing 77 people in a bomb and shooting rampage on 22 July 2011 but said the confessed mass killer was unlikely to go to prison for the country's worst peacetime massacre.

Prosecutors said they considered the 33-year-old rightwing extremist to be psychotic and would seek a sentence of involuntary commitment to psychiatric care instead of imprisonment unless new information about his mental health emerged during the trial, due to start in April.

As expected, they charged him under a paragraph in Norway's anti-terror law that refers to violent acts intended to disrupt key government functions or spread fears in the population.

(A.B.B.) has confessed to the attacks but denies criminal guilt, portraying the victims as "traitors" for embracing immigration policies he claims will result in an Islamic colonisation of Norway."

Read the whole article on guardian.co.uk here.
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Please note that the question whether or not A.B.B. is indeed criminally insane is being reinvestigated by order of the Oslo District Court..

New Psych Eval For A.B.B.

The Oslo District Court today decided that a new psychological evaluation should be made of the Norwegian mass murderer A.B.B and has appointed two psychiatrists to conduct the evaluation.

A.B.B. killed 77 people with a bombing in Oslo city center and by shooting on the island of Utøya on July 22, 2011.

The courts decision comes as no surprise since the earlier evaluation by two court appointed psychiatrists, that found A.B.B. is suffering from psychotic schizophrenia and therefore legally insane, has been heavily disputed among other psychiatrists and also undermined by the opinions reached by a team of psychiatrists and psychologists in Ila prison where A.B.B. is held in custody until the trial. See my earlier posts "Legally Insane" (url), "Sane Enough" (url) and "Sane or Insane?" (url).

According to one of the two trial judges, Wenche Elisabeth Arntzen, the decision was reached so as to "illuminate the matter in a broader way". She continues that whatever conclusion the new evaluation reaches it will be valuable for the courts to have the additional material when deciding the case.

It is uncertain whether or not A.B.B. will be willing to participate in the new examination, but according to expertise there is enough material of video and sound tapes from the police inquiry, the previous evaluation and the diatribes published on the Internet by A.B.B. for the evaluation to be conducted without him.

Sane or Insane?

Prosecutor Svein Holden, said in a letter to the Oslo district court today that three psychologists and one psychiatrist at Ila prison in Oslo, where the mass murderer A.B.B. is held in pretrial detention, informed him they have not observed any signs that he is neither psychotic or schizophrenic. The prison has not started medication of A.B.B. or  seen any need to move him to another facility. Neither have any signs of suicidal tendencies been noticed.

These findings contradict the report of the court appointed team of psychiatrists which found that A.B.B. was legally insane and suffering from psychotic schizophrenia, see "Legally Insane". These findings have earlier been disputed by the Swedish psychiatrist Johan Cullberg, see "Sane Enough".
...

I guess we will have to wait and see how the courts rules on this issue, but the line between sanity and insanity is sometimes very, very thin.

...now I am logging into my SecondLife to go see a first life photo exhibition by cbreak.

"Sane Enough"

Today the Swedish psychiatrist Johan Cullberg published a dissenting analysis of A.B.B. after listening to the 36 hours of tapes from the interviews of the Norwegian psychiatric team, DN Debatt -Breivik är tillräckligt frisk för att straffas"

"The 36 hours of interviews with Anders Breivik Behring reveals no indication that he is suffering or has suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. To absolve him from accountability and punishment due to mental disorder is offensive unprofessional and unimaginative (...) 

Instead his symptoms indicate a malignant narcissistic personality disorder, or mixed - his megalomaniac notions are closely connected with his elaborate opinions. The terrorist acts are fully consistent with these. This the (Norwegian) investigators do not at all discuss.

None of the interviews reveal anything that could not have been said or done by an extreme political or religious fanatic. Breivik´s "manifesto" is reportedly fully legible, it lacks the verbal lockups and stereotyped phrases that a work of a schizophrenic person would have demonstrated. Probably he would have been accepted by a radical political terror cell. If he suffered from schizophrenia, it would have been much more difficult - he would have had difficulty to hide the bizarre and fragmented world that is always associated with that diagnosis.

Many might wish that such evil ideas and actions like Breivik´s, or for that matter those of Hitler or Stalin, must by definition be "sick". But then you use the concept of disease in an evaluative purpose. It is important that one does not believe that behaviors that we abhor or fear, and precisely for that reason think is abnormal should be classified as sick. Then we narrow our view of capacity for evil in the mentally healthy human as well as broaden the concept of mental disease to an impermissible extent."

Johan Cullberg concludes, "(The Norwegian psychiatrists) have not understood that this is a well thought out philosophy with a fully coherent criminal action."

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The above was translated by Google Translate and corrected by me, I was too impatient to try to do it myself this time.

Cullberg raises the question I tried to raise a few days ago in my post Legally Insane, about where we draw the line between legal sanity and insanity. He does so from a similar starting point but with the added advantage of actually being a psychiatrist himself.

Legally Insane

This morning two court appointed psychiatrists delivered their findings to the Oslo district court in the case of the Norwegian mass murderer A.B.B., who killed 77 people in July. 

In their report they have concluded that A.B.B.suffered from psychotic schizophrenia when he committed his crimes and that he is therefor legally insane. The psychiatric findings may mean A.B.B. cannot be sent to jail. 

The court will have the final decision on whether A.B.B. can be held responsible for the crimes, but it generally follows the recommendations of the experts. If the court upholds the conclusion A.B.B. will not be put on criminal trial but would instead face a court hearing to rule on his criminal insanity and the length of his commitment to a psychiatric institution.

It is reported that A.B.B. doesn't approve of the psychiatrists conclusions and that he "feels offended" by them.
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My first thought when I heard this news was that to those of us in the mainstream, the thoughts and actions of extremists must inevitably seem insane and bizarre. This in itself doesn't mean that extremists always are insane by definition, let alone criminally insane in a way that they should not be accountable for their actions.

The reality of an extremist is not the same as ours, neither are his remedies. But then again, I am not a psychiatrist...

"Hatred" revisited and concluded

On September 1st, 2011, I wrote a post named "Hatred". In that post I philosophize about different aspects of hatred that we encounter in real life and in SecondLife.

Afterwards I have been told that some people found my post objectionable because they read it as if I regarded the hate they had demonstrated in a certain instance as equivalent or similar to the hate shown by the Norwegian mass murderer A.B.B. According to their opinion I had not only done so against the people who had been active in the chat I had witnessed and referred to in my post, but to all members of that particular group, whether or not they had taken part in the chat or even if they were logged in to SecondLife at that time or not.

I was also told that I had no basis for my conclusions concerning what I had witnessed because I did not refer to what may or may not have happened in that particular group chat the day before or two hours earlier (when I had not been in-world) or what happened in it after I had logged out of SecondLife. I should have investigated more, they have told me.

The topic has also been elaborated on in some of the Scandinavian SecondLife blogs with the same objections aired.

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I have reread my original post several times and have been contemplating the objections I have received. After due thought and consideration I have reached the following conclusions.

To me hate is hate is hate is hate and will never be anything else but hate. 

Hate is usually defined as an intense dislike of something or some individual or group of people. In my assessment hate makes you blind to any redeeming qualities, it is relentless and poisons your soul and your outlook on the world around you. 

Of course there are different degrees of hating and the damages caused are of different magnitude. I have never said - and have never intended to say - that the haters in SecondLife are anywhere like A.B.B., except possibly by the fact that they allow hate to influence and guide their lives and actions. 

I take full responsibility for my words and actions. I see no need to retract anything whatsoever in the post I wrote. I cannot take away the experiences or hurt feelings that some people claim they have had, but I cannot be held accountable for the hurt feelings of those who deliberately misinterpret or distort my words to suit their own objectives or views.

Finally I would like to emphasize that I have never claimed to be an investigator or a reporter. What I write in this blog is my truth as I experience it and as I witness it. 

I have always chosen to write only about what I witness myself and have never ever relied on what others say has happened before or after or during. This blog is an account of my own experiences, actions and reactions and not a megaphone for anyone else.

Now I intend to go on with my lives without letting the haters affect or influence me anymore.

Hatred

Only a few weeks ago many of us stood together remembering and honoring the people killed by the the Norwegian mass murderer A.B.B. (whom I never again intend to waist time on by spelling out his full name). This man hates many things; Islam, Muslims, foreigners, Norwegian Social Democrats and Swedish Social Democrats, Socialists, Communists, welfare receivers of any nationality etc. etc. The list could be made much longer but I think you get the drift.

I visited Stavkirken in Second Norway many times during that period, for my own sanity and to be close to others who cared, we sat together in silence and thought of the crimes that had been committed by one hating man against so many people. Again - a few weeks later - we stood all together outside the church remembering the killed at a ceremony in Second Norway and told each other this is what hate leads to, death and destruction and mass murder.

I remember telling myself during this period that hatred is a powerful force that eats at your soul, your mind and your feelings. It changes your outlook at the world and the other people in it. I promised myself to do anything from hating my fellow sisters and brothers again, either by word or by deed.

Yesterday I was minding my own business, looking over my sim, reading note cards that had been sent to me and answering them, chatting a little with my friend Zigadena Gabardini, discussing how our summers had been and her joy at having her Em from the Netherlands come visit for a couple of weeks and the plans they were making for meeting again in November.

I feel very close to Zigadena, ever since Ars first broke his leg and then again through his fatal illness. She has been there giving me emotional support, medical advice and helped me understand and come to grips with the medical procedures that my darling was subjected to.

However back now to the story I was trying to tell! After I had finished my conversation with Zigadena I went back to my meandering thoughts again while checking stuff on the sim when suddenly one of the groups erupted. It was one of the Swedish groups for a radio-channel. There is hardly ever any chat going on in this group apart from the announcements of upcoming shows.

Now the group suddenly filled with people who hated a common individual. Apparently there had been some blogging about something this person was supposed to have done the day before, I seemed to have missed that completely... or maybe it was so subtle that I missed what was being said behind the words written. Anyway they all were there spewing their common hatred on the "culprit" who wasn't there, or at least did not take part in the altercation while I still remained there. Actually some people I have liked dearly for a long time took part, although I don´t suspect they have liked me back as much since my position in this has been quite clear from the start, and of course there were others to whom I do have a distant or noncommittal relationship with.

The incident made me so upset that I immediately wanted to leave the group, but didn't know how to do it as I am new to the Firestorm viewer, so I logged out instead. I didn't want to get infected by more hate or be subjected to more hate speech.

When will we ever learn that there is no real difference between our own hate and the hate shown by the mass murderer A.B.B.? Hate never ever leads to any good, it only destroys.

Now back to bed, this post woke me up aching to get written. I am sad and tired now, sleep will be good for me!

Defender - An Important Democratic Function

 

The renowned Norwegian lawyer Geir Lippestad has been appointed as public defender for Anders Behring Breivik. He has accepted the task, after due deliberation and discussions with his family and friends.

For accepting this appointment Lippestad has received scorn, contempt and even death threats from parts of the general public - and parts of the media as well - who do not seem to understand the important role of a defender in a democratic state and for the rule of law.

In every democratic legal system everyone who commits a crime is considered innocent - at least by the state if not the general public and the media - until proven guilty in a trial.

All democratic legal system also apply the adversary process of trial in which the prosecutor and the defendant (mostly trough his defense lawyer) compete to convince the court (or in some cases the judge or the jury) of the guilt or innocence of the defendant and what a suitable sentence should be according to law.

The prosecutor has the burden of proof, it is the defense lawyers task to see to it that the prosecutor fulfills his task and that the court before passing judgment is made aware of any facts or circumstances that are beneficial for the defendant.

Through this process we try to avoid condemning someone for a crime they have not committed and that we have convincing evidence - beyond a reasonable doubt - when we do find someone guilty of a crime and sentence them to serve an appropriate punishment.

It is always important that we bear in mind that the role of the defender is to defend the alleged criminal, not the crime.

Scandinavia in Mourning

As the dust is starting to settle after the horrific atrocities in Norway yesterday,. We are all more or less in a state of complete shock in the whole of Scandinavia.

Our hearts go out to our grieving brothers and sisters in Norway for the awful massacre that was perpetrated yesterday. We are all watching the news directly transmitted from the Norwegian television NRK and are all in tears and utter dismay.

As far as has been reported so far, this is what happened.

Anders Behring Breivik, 32, an ethnic Norwegian and right wing extremist who is also a Christian fundamentalist and a islamophobic nationalist had a field day yesterday.

It all started with a bomb exploding outside a government building in central Oslo at 3.26 PM on Friday. The explosion killed at least seven people and seriously injured ten others. A tall blond man dressed as a policeman was seen close to the location.

The first reports of the massacre on the island of Utøya, outside Oslo, started coming around 18.25 PM on Friday.

The Norwegian Social Democratic Party´s youth organization was having it´s yearly summer camp on the island and had gathered 560 Norwegian and International youths.

Anders Behring Breivik, dressed in a police uniform, called on the youngsters to gather around him for news about the bombing in Oslo. As they did so he proceeded to start shooting them down, one by one. When the youngsters scattered all over the small island to take cover, and hide or attempting to swim away from the island, Anders Behring Breivik started to seek them out in their hiding places and shoot them execution style, one after the other.

He walked around seeking out his victims and shooting those he found in cold blood for approximately an hour and a half before he could be stopped.

Picture shows Anders Behring Breivik shooting at the beach (Photo by Marus Arnesen, NRK)

The death toll on the island is presently at 85 confirmed dead, but it is expected to increase as there are still many listed as missing.

Anders Behring Breivik was apprehended by The Norwegian Police´s Special Forces. He has been taken into custody and is now being questioned by the police on the events.

Our thoughts and love go out to the murdered and injured, their families and friends and to the whole Norwegian people at this time. This is the worst massacre that has happened in the Nordic countries in modern history and is an attack on democracies everywhere.

We will stand together, side by side, with our Norwegian brothers and sisters, to defend our common beliefs and against the aggression of the right wing extremists, the Christian fundamentalists and the islamophobes and xenophobes.