From today’s Guardian:
Anders Brehing Breivik, the man accused of the murder of at least 91 Norwegians in a twin bomb and gun massacre, boasted online about his discussions with the far right English Defence League and other anti-Islamic European organisations.
The Norwegian prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, said Norwegian officials were working with foreign intelligence agencies to see if there was any international involvement in the slaughter. “We have running contact with other countries’ intelligence services,” he said.
Breivik was arrested on Utøya island where he shot and killed at least 84 people, mostly teenagers, at a youth summer camp for supporters of Norway’s Labour Party after bombing Oslo’s government district just hours before.Dressed as a policeman, he ordered the teenagers to gather round him before opening fire on them. Survivors described how dozens of people were mown down. Edvard Fornes, 16, described how the gunman told the youths, “Don’t be shy,” and, “Come and play with me,” before executing them. “There were two kids lying, hiding, in a ditch saying, ‘please, please don’t shoot us,’ and he shot them.”
And, this:
Breivik’s Facebook page was blocked, but a cached version describes a conservative Christian from Oslo. The profile veers between references to lofty political philosophers and gory popular films, television shows and video games. The account appears to have been set up on 17 July. The site lists no “friends” or social connections.
Fortunately, the majority of Christians, conservatives, philosophy readers and nerds who like gory movies and video games aren’t psychopaths. The massacre Anders Brehing Breivik allegedly carried out is an act of terrorism, sure, but this guy sounds like a kook who’s just fizzing with bad chemicals.
Much more here.
CLARIFICATION/UPDATE: I think commentator Rachel is concerned that I have different standards for Muslims who kill unarmed people and Christians who kill unarmed people. Not so. I have different standards for political groups that murder civilians and individuals who murder civilians. I compare an individual like Anders Brehing Breivik to terrorist kooks like Timothy McVeigh and Jared Loughner or even a Marc Lepine, where the problematic psychology of an individual drives the violent act. If it turns out these attacks are the work of an organization, I’ll upgrade Breivik to full-on terrorist bastard. (Well, he’s a bastard either way, but to me having a violent organization with calculated political goals is more despicable.)
