(no subject)
So, yesterday (22nd) has been a shit day for Norway. At around 3 PM, when most start getting off work, a bomb went off near the government office building where the Prime Minister's office is located. The shockwave rippled and tore apart the facade of several blocks, as well as windows up to even a greater range, resulting in a scene that appeared to be taken out from a war-zone. There's 7 dead, and 2 severely wounded. There's even more lighter injuries across the board, but no disclosed number.
As this went down, shocking the city and the country, at a summer camp, Utøya, located at a small island in a lake not far from Oslo, a gunman wearing a policeman disguise was seen starting to fire shots at random teens. A resident near the lake on the opposite side claimed she heard what she first thought was fireworks, and went outside, to see teens swimming for their lives from the island as someone was clearly shooting live ammunition after them, and she heard the first swimmer scream out: "Call the police! We're being shot at!". The gunman has been apprehended, but the death count is tallied to be around 10. The teens had, during the shooting, said on their Facebooks and Twitters that people were NOT to call them, as they were hiding in whatever bushes and shrubs they could find. One father claimed his daughter just wrote "I love you." and he heard nothing more from that moment.
Worth noting is that the summer camp is organised by the Labour Party, the Party that our Prime Minister leads, this, along with the fact these things never happen here, reinforces the notion the two incidents are related; In addition, it's been said to the media that the man has claimed to be there in relation to the bomb attack.
CNN article: www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14252515
One eyewitness of the bomb says: ""I feel shaky - it's surreal. Norwegians have never experienced anything like this before. We've heard it happen in the US and in Britain, but not here. I feel sick."
Another article on CNN I found to be fairly well put, as it's all true, and I quote:
"To the outside world, the lives lived by Norway's people, both the elite and ordinary folk, may seem naive.
Though up to now they have not seen any reason to protect themselves.
To them, living in an open society has been not just a privilege, but also a statement to the rest of the world; a display of how it is possible to live together in peace.
...
Norway's attitude to risk might now change, quickly and dramatically, as private individuals withdraw and as central authorities bolster security.
If so, a possible goal of the attackers may well have been achieved, in that they have robbed Norway of its innocence."
It is not nearly the same in scale, but this is our 9/11. For the first time, I feel somewhat patriotic.
Lenge leve Norge! (Long Live Norway!)
As this went down, shocking the city and the country, at a summer camp, Utøya, located at a small island in a lake not far from Oslo, a gunman wearing a policeman disguise was seen starting to fire shots at random teens. A resident near the lake on the opposite side claimed she heard what she first thought was fireworks, and went outside, to see teens swimming for their lives from the island as someone was clearly shooting live ammunition after them, and she heard the first swimmer scream out: "Call the police! We're being shot at!". The gunman has been apprehended, but the death count is tallied to be around 10. The teens had, during the shooting, said on their Facebooks and Twitters that people were NOT to call them, as they were hiding in whatever bushes and shrubs they could find. One father claimed his daughter just wrote "I love you." and he heard nothing more from that moment.
Worth noting is that the summer camp is organised by the Labour Party, the Party that our Prime Minister leads, this, along with the fact these things never happen here, reinforces the notion the two incidents are related; In addition, it's been said to the media that the man has claimed to be there in relation to the bomb attack.
CNN article: www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14252515
One eyewitness of the bomb says: ""I feel shaky - it's surreal. Norwegians have never experienced anything like this before. We've heard it happen in the US and in Britain, but not here. I feel sick."
Another article on CNN I found to be fairly well put, as it's all true, and I quote:
"To the outside world, the lives lived by Norway's people, both the elite and ordinary folk, may seem naive.
Though up to now they have not seen any reason to protect themselves.
To them, living in an open society has been not just a privilege, but also a statement to the rest of the world; a display of how it is possible to live together in peace.
...
Norway's attitude to risk might now change, quickly and dramatically, as private individuals withdraw and as central authorities bolster security.
If so, a possible goal of the attackers may well have been achieved, in that they have robbed Norway of its innocence."
It is not nearly the same in scale, but this is our 9/11. For the first time, I feel somewhat patriotic.
Lenge leve Norge! (Long Live Norway!)