Death Toll Rises to 91 in Norway

NYTImes ^

[quesney]

The Norwegian police on Saturday charged a 32-year-old man, whom they identified as a Christian fundamentalist with right-wing connections, over the bombing of a government center here and a shooting attack on a nearby island that together left at least 91 people dead. Multimedia

Graphic Scenes of the Attacks in Norway

TimesCast | Explosions in Norway

Photographs Under Attack in Norway Related

The Lede Blog: Video and Updates on Attacks in Norway (July 22, 2011) Enlarge This Image

SCANPIX, via Associated Press Deadly explosions shattered windows on Friday at the government headquarters in Oslo, which includes the prime minister’s office. A spokeswoman for Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said he was safe. More Photos » The police said they did not know if the man, identified in the Norwegian press as Anders Behring Breivik, was part of a larger conspiracy. He is being questioned under the country’s terrorism laws and is cooperating with the investigation, they said.

“We are not sure whether he was alone or had help,” a police official, Roger Andresen, said at a televised press conference, adding: “What we know is that he is right-wing and a Christian fundamentalist.” So far Mr. Breivik has not been linked to any anti-jihadist groups, he said.

[Cheburashka]

...that MANY ARMED helicopters would be overhead!

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Cut the hysterics. I expect that armed helicopters are thin on the ground in Norway - they're thin on the ground in the U.S. In both places most of them are military, and any not actually flying are undergoing maintenance at any particular time. You'd be surprised how many hours of maintenance you need per one hour of flight time. If you want bunches of helicopters you have to plan ahead so the mechanics know when to have them all ready.

Factor in that most armed helicopters are based far from populated areas - complaints from voters about the noise, don't you know... then the flight times to get the helicpters to where you suddenly want them with no prior notice...

[jch10]

Armed officers in helicopters is not hysterical....it is expected of law enforcement agencies. It could have saved many lives.

[Prolixus]

He is apparently self-identified as a Christian according to media reports. Of course, it could be that the media wishes to get-it-out-there that he's not a Muslim.

His actions were those of someone who wished to get his message out to the world - at any cost.

Progressive governments and media everywhere must accept some responsibility for this monster's actions. They have been working at marginalizing and ridiculing anyone who is not "progressive" for decades. There are millions of non-progressives that feel they do not have a voice in our society. If the mainstream media treats them with respect and gives non-progressives a voice too, much anger and frustration will be vented through safe channels instead of through physical violence.