This is pretty chilling stuff folks so you may want to have at the very least a cup of coffee before reading this.
Courtesy of the Foreign Policy blog:
I have just finished reading through what appears to be the 1,518-page manifesto and handbook of the alleged perpetrator of the worst terrorist attack in Norwegian history.
The manifesto, bylined by someone calling himself Andrew Berwick, is entitled "2083: A European Declaration of Independence" and was posted on Stormfront.org, a white supremacist website, and discovered by American blogger Kevin I. Slaughter. [UPDATE: Norwegian TV has confirmed that the author is indeed the Oslo shooter, according to the New York Times.]
In it, "Berwick" declares himself a "Justiciar Knight Commander," a leading member of a "re-founded" Knights Templar group formed at an April 2002 meeting in London. He claims the founding group has 9 members, whom he does not name, and that three other sympathizers were not able to attend the original meeting.
"Our purpose," the document reads, is to "seize political and military control of Western European countries and implement a cultural conservative political agenda."
In grim, apocalyptic language, it advocates attacks on "traitors" across Europe who are supposedly enabling a Muslim takeover of the continent.
"[W]e should… not exceed (per 2010) aprox. 45 000 dead and 1 million wounded cultural Marxists/multiculturalists in Western Europe," the author writes. "The time for dialogue is over. We gave peace a chance. The time for armed resistance has come."
The manifesto also provides detailed instructions for everything from making a bomb to raising funds to preparing physically and mentally for what the author describes as a coming three-stage "civil war" between patriotic nationalists and "multiculturalists" who are, wittingly or not, destroying European civilization.
Filled with hateful rantings against Muslims -- whom the author claims are on a trajectory to take over Europe and erase its culture patrimony -- the writing bears a great resemblence to online comments attributed to Anders Breivik, 32, the confessed perpetrator of a massacre that has so far claimed nearly 100 lives.
The author also claims to be Norwegian, and says that English is not his native language. And at the bottom of the document are several pictures of Breivick in different outfits, including the frogman costume pictured above.
There is much more which you can read for yourself by clicking the link above.
This is very frightening information indeed, and I am sure I am not the only one amongst us who immediately thought of Jared Lee Loughner, or Timothy McVeigh, after reading of this tragedy and then wondered if, in this time of vicious political bickering, the very same kind of horrific incident wasn't in America's immediate future as well.
I can tell you with certainty that Frank Schaeffer has very little doubt:
There is a growing movement in America that equates godliness with hatred of our government in fact hatred of our country as fallen and evil because we allow women choice, gays to marry, have a social safety net, and allow immigration from other cultures and non-white races.
According to the Guardian newspaper, the killer wrote:
"Today's Protestant church is a joke," he wrote in an online post in 2009. "Priests in jeans who march for Palestine and churches that look like minimalist shopping centres. I am a supporter of an indirect collective conversion of the Protestant church back to the Catholic."
It seems Anders Behring Breivik longed for a "pure" and ultra conservative religion. He was a man of religious conviction, no liberals with their jeans need apply! Liberals beware.
Norway is just a first taste of what will happen here on a larger scale.
I certainly hope that this time Mr. Schaeffer is incorrect, but I cannot pretend not to see the same gathering storm clouds of which he is speaking.
And for those who have recently questioned why I still bother to call out Sarah Palin on her lies, and reveal to the world just how insane she, and her political points of view, are, this is why. Because the people behind this kind of hatred, and plans for Christofascist domination, are looking for an attractive package behind which they can broadcast their message of hate and divisiveness until the country is so splintered that they can then step in to grab hold of the reins of power.
I have long been convinced that Sarah Palin WAS the vessel that they chose to further their agenda. But we, with no small amount of help from Palin herself, have managed to damage her credibility to the point that I don't believe they find her useful any longer. By no means am I suggesting that she is not still somebody whose activities should be monitored carefully, because she is.
However there are others like Bachmann and Perry with which we still to contend. And hidden in the shadows there can be no doubt that America has its version of an Anders Behring Breivik, just waiting in the wings for that last straw to snap his emotional camel's back, or perhaps for direction from a Right Wing radio host or Fox News talking head, to provide a clue as to which enemy he needs to place in his crosshairs.
In other words my friends when it comes to unveiling the dangerous agendas of the lunatic fringe, or shining the light of truth on dark plots of nefarious political operatives, we have really only just begun.
In the immortal words of Robert Frost:
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Mmmmmm.
ReplyDeleteLet me guess how the republicans will twist this?
I really hope that everybody takes takes a deep breath and learns from this
Gryphen, this is one of your best posts ever. Very important....and I hope it spreads to other blogs. The Southern Poverty Law Center has been tracking hate crimes and neo-"Christianist" groups here in the US for years...it's time everyone started to get on board to expose and dismantle them.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet, Laura Ingraham gets o Fox and rants about 'the Muslim extremist' in Norway! Your post should be required reading for anyone who thinks that Palin and Bachmann, as well as Breibart, Murdoch, and the rest of FauxNoise, are just misguided and harmless. There is an agenda, and they are not above watching people die (already happened in Tucson, and they blamed liberals there too.) This is terrifying stuff, and we need to be very vigilant, as well as speak out for the truth.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be appropriate to put a picture of Sarah Palin with a rifle right next to this killer because they share the same beliefs.
ReplyDeleteIn spite of the fact that he lives with a Palin blogger, my husband's typical comment is "who?" A few weeks ago I got annoyed and said, "you may not think Sarah Palin is a problem in our country, but you ignore the dominionists at your own peril." His response? "who?" grrrr. NOT paying attention. Religious zealots have ALWAYS been the most dangerous humans on the planet. Our world history is littered with examples. We ignore them at our own peril.
ReplyDeletebtw, if some of you have never visited stormfront.org, I recommend a quick peek. It will scare the bejeezus out of you.
ReplyDeleteI think you're forgetting about the guy who WAS intercepted on his way to kill b/c of what he'd continually heard on Rush and Fox news.
ReplyDeleteThere was the Failed MLK JR. day BOMBING in Oregon.
And now Schaeffer Cox and his militia in Alaska.
There are others. We have been VERY lucky thus far that our law enforcement has been able to stay "one step ahead", but G is correct. It won't be long until one of these people "slips" through and we will have another tragedy.
Norwegians (the white ones, not the Sami/Lapp) have long racist roots. www.VermillionRoadPress.com
ReplyDeleteThey're also brave (Viking), so the horror of all this coming from Norway isn't surprising to me.
Sarah and her ilk are Johnny-come-lately wannabes.
They usually claim Christianity, but are actually very *mean*.
I've been struggling against this since I was a child. It's why I follow your blog and others like yours. I don't want a creature like Palin anywhere near the buttons of power.
Read the alleged manifestos (ranting) of the Taliban and/or Osama bin Laden. They sound very similar. We know, sort of, who supports the Taliban and where bin Laden got his money.
ReplyDeleteWhat I want to know is how this nilhilist Norwegian bachelor farmer was supported.
Sadly, in dissing the church, he fails to understand the biblical definition of the word.
"For where there are two or three gathered in my name, there I will be also." Matthew 18:20.
He is using Christian as a political term. I doubt he understands the responsibilities of being one.
I am off to Christ Lutheran ELCA to mourn.
I think it's very important - very, very important - that we all understand what has germinated this movement. You cannot solve a problem without understanding it's innate cause, and the following book correctly identifies the ECONOMIC seeds that sprouted this violence: "Harvest of Rage: Why Oklahoma City is Only the Beginning" http://www.amazon.com/Harvest-Rage-Oklahoma-City-Beginning/dp/0813332931/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311511686&sr=1-1
ReplyDeleteThis all started happening after farmers were wiped out in the eighties due to Paul Volker's disastrous policies to fight inflation. These policies decimated family farms around the country. Much of rural America, in fact. And these people were prime targets for the anti-government Dominionists.
We have to understand that as long as economics remain so depressed in the rural parts of countries, as long as there is no one else to step into the void with help and a positive message, the extreme anti-government crowd will be happy to step into that place.
America next? Where have you been? It's been happening here for decades! While many remember McVeigh, most have forgotten the killer who destroyed so many lives in a church he considered too progressive just 3 years ago. And all that talk about" American values" means white, christian, patriarchal values.
ReplyDeleteBachmann, Palin, pray away the drought Perry and the rest of them should have been thrown off the stage long ago, but are treated as serious options for leading the US. Much of the world perceives the US as a country of dangerous mutters. Sadly, it's increasingly true.
For some strange reason I just want to blame everything on the Rupert Murdoch "news" empire these days.
ReplyDeleteI do believe higher ups THOUGHT Sarah could help them to gain back control for whatever reason. The left has done the same thing with Obama. The two are empty suits. That much is evident by their lack of substance in speech. They both vomit out talking points, they both essentially sound programmed.
ReplyDeleteHOWEVER, to the dismay of the right, Sarah IS NOT someone who plays a pawn well. ANd THATS why I find her fascinating. Obama is pro at playing pinocchio.
In my eyes, Sarah basically USED the party and its leaders to gain a namesake then went rogue. That is her story. She's not evil, shes not a bad person. She's a master at furthering herself, a skill I think everyone wishes they had. She played along, then somewhere said "hey lets NOT change america to a piece of euro trash, welfare junky country.
If I were you, I'd forget all about her past governing decisions. Shes not THAT person anymore. Shes all about the people and indiv freedom. Thats also evident.
The lack of courage the mainline church is exhibiting in not speaking out against religious extremism is a disgrace and is a sign of its irrelevance.
ReplyDeleteBill
And yet we hear the continued cries against Muslim and Sharia law. Not one peep from the right regarding the threat from these Christian crazies. Guess if they think God tells them to do things like run for President then they can sure as heck take out a few dozen Norwegians.
ReplyDeleteI love how the fairy tale trolls ignore all of Gryphen's posts that don't relate directly to the Palins. They have NO life beyond defending Bristle's chin and "sweet" spirit, and Sarah's rabid ambition and "thick" skin. lol. If they weren't such utter assholes, I might feel sorry for their pathetic narrow lives.
ReplyDeleteDo they have rightwing talk radio in Norway? Would be interesting to know. We certainly have our fair share of rightwing talking heads instilling paranoia about Muslims here. At least two rants from Rush Limbaugh that clearly tries to infer Obama is some sort of Muslim sleeper agent: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_060309/content/01125106.guest.html
ReplyDeletehttp://www.impeachobamacampaign.com/rush-limbaugh-thanks-to-obama-the-muslim-brotherhood-has-come-a-long-way-baby/
If we don't think such tragedies are going to happen here, we are seriously deluding ourselves. The professional ultra-right isn't creating a climate of paranoia and hate for nothing.
Anon 5:00 a.m
ReplyDeleteShit elsewhere. The only individual freedoms Sarah Palin is about are hers.
I am afraid this is headed to the US thanks to Sarah Palin, Michelle, Rick Perry and the Tea Party. They are crazy.
ReplyDeleteYou know, reading about this man's views, I've just figured out what the rightwing here means when they talk about American "exceptionalism." It's their sneaky way of re-coding the dubious term "nationalism" which they know is now associated with
ReplyDeleteNazi skinheads and the like. So they've simply switched the word to "exceptionalism."
Now, who among America's rightwing screeches that term the most? Hmmmmmmmmm?
To add to my comments about the rightwing using the word exceptionalism in place of nationalism...well, here you go, folks. Right from the mouth of one of the most mainstream rightwing publications in this country: "Multiculturalism vs. American Exceptionalism." http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/259387/multiculturalism-vs-american-exceptionalism-peter-kirsanow
ReplyDeleteDon't tell me that the MAINSTREAM rightwing in this country aren't gunning for similar incidents in this country! They have murder in their hearts, and it's about time this is acknowledged as the plain truth it is.
5:00am:
ReplyDeleteThat was hysterical. You are confused. The Republicans have pushed sarah away from the table. Since ´08, all she has been doing is digging her own grave by going rogue. She has no other options.
Just so you know. We want that fraud to run. We want to show she lied to McCain, lied to her ´08 staff, lied to the Republican Party, and lied to the American people. And I haven´t even listed the crimes she committed. Yeah, you read that last sentence right.
In fairness to sarah, I will say she showed a little human side that I was never expecting. sarah has proven she is capable of loving someone other than herself. Her relationship with Rebecca is kind of sweet.
But who are "they"? This is not some perfectly organized phenomenon. As horrible and potentially lethal as it appears to be, 9 people in Europe do not make up a movement. As ominous as people claiming to have a connection to the Knights of Templar sounds in our modern era pop culture mentality - it's just a bunch of mentally ill, evil misfits talking (rambling, more like). They can hurt people, to be sure, but that's not the point.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I don't think Christofascists "chose" Sarah Palin as their vessel, as crazy as those nutjobs are. That language is far too conspiratorial and generalized.
Sarah Palin has been supported by a number of power strands, some of whom have nothing at all to do with religion in general and Christianity in particular.
Don't get all unstrung, I am not writing this to defend Christianity in the slightest. I just can't stand it when people go off the deep end about the extent of this stuff.
Fundamentalist extremists of all creeds are certainly one of the greatest threats to the security of our world today. That is clear.
That being said, this man and his terrible deeds may not portend ANYTHING. Just because someone hopes to take over or remake society or inflict pain and death on people in the name of revolution - doesn't mean it is any more substantive than the things we do know about. It doesn't mean he has any real chance of succeeding. Let's worry more about the stuff going on in DC right now, how about?
In the meantime, I do hope the Norwegians find a way to put this gentleman away for life. What has happened at his hands is beyond devastating, a horrible tragedy.
The "enemy" changes, but the rightwing never does. They must, MUST have something to hate. Hate is their motivator. It is their prime source of energy. All non-white people could leave the country tomorrow, and we know quite well their hatred would then fixate on another group. That group could leave, and their hatred would move on to another group. It would just go on and on until they turned on each other.
ReplyDeleteI know a woman who used to be a very kind and gentle soul. Some years back, she started listening to rightwing radio. She is now half-mad, and just about to step over the line to all-the-way insane. I am not kidding.
Bill, the mainstream Christian church does speak out against this. Every day.
ReplyDeleteWhile they are busy helping those in need, btw.
Irrelevant? Don't think so.
Sorry if they aren't on TV every second to reassure you of their principles.
I don't know where you live, but you are obviously not looking around you or bothering to inquire.
I don't hold the Jewish faith responsible for violence done in its name. I don't hold the Muslim faith responsible for violence done in its name.
I am sure while you are busy helping your neighbor you don't do that either.
@5.00
ReplyDeleteDo tell, Oh Enlightened One! Sheesh.
Oh! Hashish, no doubt... speaking of "evident." Speaking of dents, or of dense. Thank you in any event for my much-needed morning giggle.
Your first comment by dianedp asked the question I was going to comment on -
ReplyDeleteWouldn't you know it would be on FOX News. Laura Ingraham is somehow blaming the Muslims. God, they never give up, do they?
Pat Padrnos
Anonymous at 6:14 -
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about supposedly sane people listening to right wing radio shows.
During the 2008 campaign I suddenly started hearing from relatives, who I did not kinow were fans of those shows. They were praisng Beck, Limbaugh etc. and the very racist views about Obama. I felt like I suddenly "lost" some of my family. There was no talking to them. These are people I had admired and had been close to. What happened?
Pat Padrnos
One of the nastier characteristics of mankind is the tendency to objectify perceived enemies as "the other." For quite some time now we have seen the militant rightwing--Rush, Fox, and Acolytes-- in this country ranting about and sneering at "libruls" as if they were a separate, inferior, inherently evil species. It's a dangerous phenomena because it is this tendency that enables people to start killing their perceived enemies on a grand scale.
ReplyDeleteThe press has been complicit in that whenever one of these rightwing loonies snaps, the incident is swept under the rug and forgotten. The nearly-averted MLK Day bombing in Spokane is a prime example. If that bomb had been planted by a Moslem, they'd still be talking about it. But because it was planted by a rightwing Christian, most people in this country never heard of it.
Why? Because Americans like to scare themselves with talk of evil Moslems trying to take over the world. They don't want to hear about home-grown nasties who look and pray the same way they do. (And yeah, I'm lookin' at you, Palin Fairly Tale Troll. You're a sick human being, and this Norwegian murderer is your ideological twin.)
Make no mistake about it, these people would like to kill us--kill us all-- simply because we believe that corporations should be taxed to help support the infrastructure they use to make their billions, because we believe in the need to conserve and protect our environment, because we don't believe religion should be taught in public schools, because we don't want to give government control of a woman's body.
The "Knights Templar" are a kinder, gentler, more arrogant version of the KKK. Not surprised he considered himself a "knight". I wonder how the American "priories" are spinning this horrific slaughter of innocents.
ReplyDelete5:00 - you sound like someone who needs assistance. That you truly believe Sarah Palin believes in individual freedom and "people" is not consistent with her track record.
ReplyDeleteShe has tried to circumvent the freedom of the press as every turn. She will not allow her inner circle to discuss anything. She, along with people such as Mayor Sullivan of Anchorage, want total control. Sarah fears anything she cannot control.
Where was her concern for "people" when Alaskan natives were facing food and fuel crises? Why did she wait until the Big Brave Man, Franklin Graham, came along with his private jet to take her cookies to the villages? Why is she only willing to appear to help when the cameras are rolling and then only for the briefest of appearances.
Where was her fiscal concern when she ran Wasilla into the largest debt it has ever had>
Where was her concern for tourism when she championed a killing spree on the wildlife that draws millions of dollars into the state?
Where was her outrage when a gunman killed so many people in Tucson?
Why won't she come out against hate speech? Why won't she take the lead in getting funds for kids with DS and other physical and mental disabilities?
If she cares so much, why does she take, take, take and rarely give to charity?
Sarah is a sham. She doesn't understand Christ's message of love, compassion, and tolerance. She is too self-centered and/or stupid to embrace the essence of faith which is to care, truly care for every single person's welfare - not just the wealthy, the uber-Christianists, and the powerful.
If she really cared, she would show concern about her children, keep them from the harsh glare of the spotlight, make sure they got a quality education, and the health care they need. She'd also make sure they understood basic sex education and had basic self-respect so they don't get impregnated or impregnate others outside of marriage. She doesn't care for anyone if it creates work or inconvenience for herself.
Let's see, could a rightwing terrorist kill a bunch of liberal young people here, in the hope of wiping out the next generation of liberal leaders?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely it could. Look how much they hate, loathe and despise college kids for always voting progressive in much larger numbers than they do conservative.
Here's the link
ReplyDeletehttp://www.blackfive.net/main/2011/07/manifesto-anders-behring-breivik.html
Anon 7:02 "One of the nastier characteristics of mankind is the tendency to objectify perceived enemies as "the other." For quite some time now we have seen the militant rightwing--Rush, Fox, and Acolytes-- in this country ranting about and sneering at "libruls" as if they were a separate, inferior, inherently evil species."
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head. Dehumanizing the perceived enemy makes it much easier to level buildings that house daycare centers (America), to walk into a church in the midst of a children's play and open fire (America), to cheer on military when they murder protesting college students at places like Kent State (America) and to storm a youth retreat and start mowing down unarmed teenagers (Norway).
Guess my above words kind of answer Gryphen's question, too. Yeah, it could definitely happen here.
The Southern Poverty Law Center has been tracking hate crimes and neo-"Christianist" groups here in the US for years...it's time everyone started to get on board to expose and dismantle them.
ReplyDelete-----
The Southern Poverty Law Center is one of the organizations I donate to. They started in 1971.
http://www.splcenter.org/
They have a map of the U.S. where you can find documented hate groups in your state.
http://www.splcenter.org/get-involved/stand-strong-against-hate
(EX: New Jersey has 47 documented hate groups. - none in AK, btw, documented that is)
5:00 maybe you should apply for school at Columbia and if you do exceptionally well there you can then apply and go to Harvard Law School where if you do really, really well you can become the editor of the Harvard Law Review. After that, how about teaching in a university where you could excel in teaching Constitutional Law? Then, how about a stint as a U.S. Senator? Barack Obama actually did all these things.
ReplyDeleteWIth all due respect, your obvious queen Sarah Palin attended five colleges, of which two were community colleges, finally earning a degree in communications. A communications degree isn't even a journalism degree. She then was the mayor of a town of 6,000 people, and governor of a state of 635,000 people for two years after which she quit. Her refusal to become a "lame duck" was the height of folly and disingenuousness. No thinking voter will ever believe she didn't quit to become a very wealthy celebrity. And that is what Sarah Palin always wished for. Get over it. She is a total figment of your very poor imagination.
From Southern Law Poverty Center:
ReplyDeleteSovereign Citizens Movement
The strange subculture of the sovereign citizens movement, whose adherents hold truly bizarre, complex antigovernment beliefs, has been growing at a fast pace since the late 2000s. Sovereigns believe that they get to decide which laws to obey and which to ignore, and they don't think they should have to pay taxes.
This tragedy absolutely needs to be a wake-up call for people. It provides the blueprint of the end means for all the railing against multiculturalism, the emphasis on "American exceptionalism," the deliberate spreading of paranoia about Sharia law taking root, and the concerted effort to make liberalism sound like a scary, unhuman ideology.
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly what some of the most mainstream rightwing commentators and figures in this country want to happen here, over time, until these incidents aren't rare occurrences, but happening on a mass level.
America, open your eyes. And for that matter, Obama, open YOUR eyes. What is happening in this country isn't "partisan bickering." It's the manifestation of a rightwing cult masquerading as a mainstream political party and hijacking a respected religion, with the end goal of putting it's boot on the throat of anyone who doesn't conform precisely to what they want.
ReplyDeleteScary days ahead.
I would like to know if events leading up to the Holocaust included similar "lone wolf" acts of terrorism against Jewish people before they manifested into mass oppression. Really, someone should be studying this to get an idea if a similar oppression could end up happening against liberals. Look how far right this country is moving. Look at what we accept being said on mainstream radio and TV. I will never forget Ann Coulter saying that liberals needed to know we could be killed for basically being liberal. Ten years later, she is still booked as a guest on mainstream media outlets.
ReplyDeleteAnd Rush Limbaugh...RUSH LIMBAUGH...is actually allowed to preach his hate on Armed Forces Radio. Let that sink in, people. Rush Limbaugh is allowed to preach to impressionable, armed, and trained to kill people that liberals should be exterminated.
lol. I spoke too soon. Sarah is only about HER individual freedoms, dear troll. She doesn't give a flippin' crap about anybody else's rights. And stop trying to compare her to Obama. She isn't in his league. She isn't even good enough to be his coffee fetcher.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't understand is why the shooter didn't shoot Muslims if he hated them so much and blamed them for all the ills of the country?
ReplyDeleteHas anyone explained yet about his choice of targets - seemingly white Norwegians? And how much ammo was he packing to hunt down 90 people???
Anon 5:00 concisely states the "story" , the confabulations of Palin, money making sensationalist terror inducing craziness spewed by Beck.
ReplyDeleteI understand the ease to convince people of anything preying on their vulnerability of ignorance. Anon 5:00 comment "euro trash" conveys Anon did not study any foreign language, learn about other cultures, not traveled abroad, does not know anyone who studied or worked abroad. Nor has correct information about education in other countries.
It is clear Palin cast herself as a virtual super hero to save rill Amerikans from "transforming America" to euro "trash" and welfare state. Wow, that manipulates the conned pushing their patriot/love of country button.
It is psychodrama starring Sarah Palin, rogue, risking all for rill patriots.
Anon, most people aren't envious of Palin's means to her ends for those behaviors are Pathalogical, shared traits of thirds, con's and serial killers.
Anon 7:10. Well said!
ReplyDeleteAnon 7:44: "What I don't understand is why the shooter didn't shoot Muslims if he hated them so much and blamed them for all the ills of the country?"
ReplyDeleteBehind every conscious desire is a much deeper unconscious desire. What he and the rightwing really hate are liberals, not Muslims. I believe in his manifesto he explained his belief that Muslims were wild animals and thus, should not be punished.
And let's not forget what Muslim rightwingers are doing. It's easy to think they hate non-Muslims because of what they did on 9/11, but the attacks and suicide bombings of their own people are far, far more frequent. They hate anyone who doesn't subscribe to their far right religious beliefs, even if it's in their own people.
Don't think the rightwing Chri$tianists in this country aren't taking note of what the rightwing I$lamic fascists are doing to their own people.
Jared Loughner and Timothy McVeigh were acting on mental illness. These groups are acting on their conceived rationale and belief system, that medications can't treat. I didn't think of Jared or Timothy at all. I thought of the Crusades, Hitler, and abusive slave owners.
ReplyDeletephoebes;
ReplyDeletehe targeted the future leaders of Norway, killed them off at the pass, one could say. He dressed up as a trusting cop, told them that he would protect them after the bombing and then shot them. he knew what he was doing. Six hundred youth gathered for a camping/networking event, he wanted to stop future generations from being multi-cultural,in his words.
Watched his manifesto video, struck by the similarities to Glenn Beck's ravings. The only thing missing was a blackboard and of course, the tears.
Until the propaganda is removed from our airwaves, many more of these attacks will continue. They are gathering strength. And Fox is the culprit of spreading the hate along with Rush, Coulter, etc.
the norwegian shooter attacked the power structure of his country, who are allowing in muslim immigrants, rather than the muslim immigrants themselves
ReplyDeletethis is a strategic decision and it shows a cold, calculating perpspective rather than purely an emotional one
the norway shooter was much more effective than the arizona shooter
The comment at 6:12 is very cleverly done, don't you think? Sounds so reasonable and mature? hard to detect the poison, especially if one is perhaps older, afraid (for many excellent reasons), and, either old or young, lacking in critical thinking skills.
ReplyDelete"Oh, that sounds right, what else will they say?"
An exemplar of the toxicity that now pervades our system, perhaps?
READ folks, and speak with others and ASK QUESTIONS...remember the old bumbersticker: Question Authority...not just The Authorities, but any Author who, like our example here, is speaking as a leader.
Aurora
to Phebes: his manifesto was for a revolution in Europe that would take generations...his goal was in the 2080's. He killed the young who would have grown up to be the leaders of the political party he blamed for multi-culturalism. Read the Foreign Policy article Gryphen has linked to. That is what will be so seductive to our own RW Dominionists. It is a multi-year plan and he layed out his strategies in great detail.
ReplyDeleteAnother chilling aspect of his slaughter, was how he went around the island, coming up to groups of the children who had heard the shots, encouraging them to come out, they were safe, he was the police. When they did, he mowed them down.
He had been planning this since 2009.
Aurora
What is even more terrifying about people like Palin is the people like Murdoch and the Koch's who eagerly use haters like Palin and moronic megalomaniac like Duhbya and Perry to create situations that they can profit from and from which they can gain even more power.
ReplyDeleteWithout their kind the Perrys, David Dukes, Palins and that bunch of cop killer wanna bees that were recently arrested in Alaska are just a tempests in a tea pot (so to speak). Big money and big media exposure raise their threat exponentially.
What truly frightens me is that the most radical fringe members of these right wing groups are becoming accepted, and powerful, members of our federal, state and local governments.
ReplyDeleteThink about past Presidential candidates and how there have always been crazy, extreme people trying to run for office, but they've always been quickly eliminated by the public who recognizes their insanity.
Now look at the current crop of Presidential candidates who are actually being taken seriously: Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Tim Pawlenty. In previous elections, these whackjobs would be laughed off the stage but this year they're the frontrunners!
In the past, the most radical of the religious politicians tried to keep their extreme views out of the public eye. Now they're loudly and proudly proclaiming them for everyone to hear, and some are determined to turn this country into a fundamentalist Christian theocracy.
Waiting for Christian Amanpour this morning on ABC, there was a preacher just going to town on the threat in
ReplyDeletethe US to Christianity. He appeared to be inciting violence in his fervor...I had to turn it off. I think back to how the Muslims are criticized about their teachings.... Do our preachers preach terrorism in the name of Jesus?
Dude looks like a character from the san diego comi-con ;-)
ReplyDeleteThis is also troubling on many levels:
ReplyDeletehttp://kotaku.com/5824147/oslo-terrorist-anders-behring-breivik-used-modern-warfare-2-as-training+simulation-world-of-warcraft-as-cover
I feel this incident will be viewed by history as a watershed event for the 21st century; and how we as a society respond will be crucial. Will it be with fear, repression and ultimately, facism? or will we be able, in a post-liturgical era, to dig deep into our own minds and hearts and find the courage to create a healthy, vibrant, loving, peaceful culture for the grandchildren.
It is time, as we used to say in the 60's, to 'live our politics'. Fear and love are like oil and water. Fear is corrosive to the heart, and that is where courage abides.
And thus, the poison of Ms Palin and her ilk targets the heart. If they can make us afraid, they have attained half their goal.
And BTW, beware of what Boehner is proposing in Congress: a Super Committee of 12 to 'fast-track' legislation to 'solve the debt crisis.' (No accident this is happening in the height of the summer vacation season.)
Aurora
What motivated him? Let's ask good ol' Americastan's Pam Geller where he was a guest writer . . and lest we forget to honor his prolific written records at Stormfront ..what 'motivated' him to act upon what they inspired in him and others.
ReplyDeleteNo Gles, they don't.
ReplyDeleteUnless they are off-the-grid extremists, which is an entirely different matter...
"Our preachers" is quite a broad reference.
I would never make a statement using the phrases "our Rabbis" or "our Imams" or "our Secular Humanists", because it couldn't possibly be followed by an accurate characterization - of anything.
People have to start to be more specific in their language regarding these topics. Generalizations offer neither clarity nor value to the discussion of these important issues.
Just because someone writes a "manifesto" does not mean they aren't suffering from severe mental illness. Just because someone belongs to an established group of some kind, one with a radical and violent belief system, does not rule out the role of psychological pathology in one's thought processes and behaviors.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, quite the contrary is very likely the case.
Any time a human being is drawn into these fanatical ideologies, there is a very high likelihood that they suffered trauma as children and that they have encountered chronic failure and despair as adults.
Yes, it is evil, but mental illness is a hell on earth.
(When we are talking about institutionalized murder, as in the Holocaust, we can set the mental illness paradigm aside and point to pure evil on a larger historic scale.)
This person is exactly like the Timothy McVeigh's and the Jared Loughners of the world. There is a spectrum of paranoia at play; McVeigh's included extreme political beliefs and Loughner's may have been strictly personal, though that is still unclear.
Same psychological profile, however, which leads a person to go on a rampage such as this.
The hate groups provide an affiliation and encourage the paranoia, but the two things are intertwined. Without the psychological vulnerability, people wouldn't be willing to blow themselves and others up, as it were.
Thanks to all of you who answered my question about the Oslo shooter.
ReplyDeleteTo Phoebes...@ 7:44
ReplyDeleteThe youths killed were all part of AUF - the Norwegian Labor Party's youth organization. They gather on this small island outside of Oslo for a week or so every year. Just hours before they were killed, Gro Harlem Bruntland (former Prime Minister of Norway and former leader of the World Health Organziation) was on the island speaking to them. The current Prime Minister of Norway was scheduled to arrive on the island the day after. These youths came from all over Norway and were leaders and members of each of Norway's 19 counties. This killer did not shoot random kids at a summer camp, he specifically targeted these kids because of their liberal political views and their future as leaders of Norway's labor party.
Dear Sarah "don't retreat, reload" Palin,
This killer reloaded more than 90 times. As a result, 90 kids are killed and many seriously wounded. They were killed and wounded because they supported a liberal, multi-cultural society. If these kids had been conservatives killed by a muslim, you would have commented by now. Your silence speaks volume. And, by the way, your despicable cross-hair map and despicable "don't retreat, reload" rhetoric was impossible to miss also in Norway, so I'm certain it was seen and heard and appreciated by Anders Behring Brevik.
According to the killer's current Facebook profile, he has zero followers. But don't be fooled by this. His original Facebook account had more than 7,000 followers. He deleted that account shortly before the attacks after he had published his writings (btw, large portions of is manifesto was copied from the manifesto of the una-bomber).
ReplyDeleteI thought this idea might be over the top, but I see others have also suggested, so I will just add to it. Put Sarah's pic of her hefting that big heavy auto rifle next to this one...with appropriate captions, of course.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post. Got me thinking. Too many parallels in purpose, intention, rhetoric, methods to ignore. I am hoping that Murdoch scandal + outrage over this horror in Norway = some careful analysis of these extreme right wing agendas in America. We know who they are, and they have already taken over the House of Representatives. Really good post. We need some serious discussion on this.
ReplyDelete@5:00
ReplyDeleteYou have proved yourself to be profoundly ignorant and a bit nuts. There is abundant evidence, all easily attainable, of Sarah's pathological lying. Where have you been? You have also completely glossed over her egregious errors in governance while mayor and governor. Are you a natural born idiot or do you work at it? Just the fact that she lead Wasilla from a $1mil debt to over $21mil in debt while mayor puts the lie to your words. Grow up.
I wonder if Sarah's gettin' all quivery in anticipation of joining Anders and Pamela on their most excellent adventure.
ReplyDeleteThanks to all the commenters here who brought their well througt out and pertinant information and dialogue to this particular incident. I've watched the news outlets, read some commentary and found not much substance to what was reported.
ReplyDeleteIt's difficult to comprehend one person harboring so much hate, possibly being insane, and having access to so many weapons and ammunition to execute this crime.
The mixture of ignorance, fear, and blind acceptance of hate as the justification to kill innocent people has been the tool of choice for so many extremeist radical movements, and lone wolf radicals (ie the unibomber).
To take the guise of law enforcement to coerce innocent people to their own slaughter takes a very intelligent, articulate, and particularly evil person. The premeditation and careful planning kind of wipes out the mental illness excuse imho. This act was deliberate, his manifesto and internet comments show a certain degree of expertise that's astonishing.
It can and will happen anywhere, especially here, and especially if this fiasco our President is dealing with.
The tea party is just the type of mentality these people would love to exploit to their benefit. It's the perfect mix of ignorance and hate that wants to destroy our democracy and see our president fail at any cost. And who do we have to thank for that?
Sarah Trademark Louise Heath Palin and her merry band of fairy tale trolls. Tres moi AIP/dominionism - ish.
@5:00 a.m. U R F'in IdioT
ReplyDeleteI will love to see more post from you....
ReplyDelete