Norway under terrorist attack!

Listening to the BBC about the bombings. Shocking!!!

It's the last place on earth I would of thought to get hit from a terrorist act .... I'm Stunned.

My heart goes out to the people of Norway.

Hope all is well with 2of3 and his family.

My sincere condolences to those families in Norway irreparably harmed by this insanity.

Ditto.  I am also shocked. 

Seems not even the far north is immune. My heart goes out to the Norwegian people.

THIS is the Facebook page of Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian guy identified as the shooter responsible for the death of the children in the Utoya island and also thought to be responsible for the bombing in Oslo today (reports suggest that he was seen loitering around the site of the bomb blast two hours before the island incident).

It's beginning to look like this was not a terrorist attack at all, but the isolated act of a single mass murderer, similar to the Columbine shooting/Timothy McVeigh Oklahoma bombing.

What is wrong with this world (and our society) that a single person is capable of - and willing to - create so much suffering?!

I notice he has no Facebook friends.  Perhaps there was no one to take note that he had slipped from genius into insanity.  (from the guy's Facebook page, I can tell he certainly wasn't an airhead.)  

I don't say this facetiously.  There just aren't enough people taking an interest in their neighbors anymore to assess whether someone is 'losing it' and suggest that perhaps they talk to someone.  This is no different than that Levi Aron guy who hacked up that little Hasidic boy.  We'll kind of look out our windows and wonder about who we're living next to, and if there is something they're doing that really annoys us, we'll call the cops so that the problem gets taken care of anonymously, but we don't actually interact and find out whats going on in their heads, and perhaps kindly bring up debate points if what's going on in their head is totally out of whack with peaceful existence.  We'd rather avoid conflict -- but this is what happens when we compartmentalize ourselves and look out for #1, rather than get involved and BE a community.

Society sees nothing wrong in people being able to access weapons capable of causing 'mass destruction'.

We [that's a Global 'we'] only have ourselves to blame.

Agree completely, Jafo and K10w3.

Norwegian police has just reported that at least 80 innocent kids were slaughtered at Utoya by this raving lunatic. This is absolutely insane, evil in its purest form - walking among our own!

What's even more bizarre is that when they discover his motive....what sort of reason will he give? As if there is one. Something put him in that frame of mind. What?

Probably listening too much to the news. 

The news is scary enough without this guy adding to it. I sometimes wonder...what does this say for us, as a people.

Another black day in the history of mankind... though in instances such as these, I find it difficult to see where the 'kind' part comes into it.  Events such as this sadden me immensely, and yes, I shed a few tears every time such a tragedy occurs.  I feel for the victims of course, but more so for the survivors and the friends and relatives of those who died.  This is a particularly difficult time for them, the parents of those innocent children, and my heart truly goes out to them.

This is why I oppose guns [the use of] anywhere in society.  The express intention of a gun is to kill... and the sooner firearms manufacture ceases entirely, and ALL firearms in the wild are either voluntarily handed in or seized by the authorities and destroyed, the better.  That way cops can go back to using truncheons and 'suicide by cop' will be much harder.

Yeah, I know, there's going to be a bunch of fruitloops saying that it's their right to bear arms [to protect themselves], but if nobody... and I mean NOBODY has guns, then you don't need guns as protection from guns.  Burglars, armed robbers, intruders and etc would then have to rely on less destructive weapons.... and so much easier to defend against than some arsewipe who can kill you from across the room.

Would this stop murder and senseless killing in society?  No!  There will always be some dickhead who has a bad hair day and thinks it's his right to take it out on the world, and pure evil will always exist also, but researched has proved that having to get up close and personal [being forced to look them in the eyes] makes it far more difficult to kill somebody.  And certainly there would be fewer victims

It's like Jafo said, we {globally] have ourselves to blame... and at the risk of upsetting the 'right to bear arms' bunch [so what's a few more enemies among friends] the responsibility for all these senseless firearm killings lies squarely on the shoulders of those who believe it their right to bear arms.  Without that "it's my right" mentality it would be so much easier for government [in the US particularly] to legislate against ALL firearms in the community and therefore save lives.

There... I said it.

Actually Paul...a lot of people see something wrong with it...but those people don't access these type of weapons...it's the few that don't care about what you or I think or anyone else for that matter. And as I've said before...you can write all the gun laws you want and it won't make a difference. Criminals don't obey gun laws and governments don't enforce the ones already on the books. Responsible people with guns can stop crimes like this one...but tie their hands with more gun laws and more people will die. Laws don't stop criminals or terrorists...bullets do.

Ok...fruit loop here! And your damn straight...it IS my right to have a gun and even though I don't currently have one I will fight to make sure that right is never taken away just because of hysteria or some nut that has no respect for human life. If someone breaks into my home I'd much rather throw lead than harsh language at him.

The next thing will be bows & arrows getting banned...then god knows what else. Pretty soon we will all be forced to walk around in handcuffs just in case. Where does it end?

Unfortunately there are far to many guns in the world to stop it...and no self respecting criminal is going to voluntarily hand over his gun. And the "research" that somehow proves it would be harder for a criminal to kill you without getting up close and personal I think has some flaws. And besides...dead is dead...be it a gun...a knife...a car...a bomb or whatever...if someone has decided you have to die...what does it matter how you died or that he looked you in the eye...your still dead.

The other thing is...and I know this has been beaten to death...but guns do not kill people...people kill people...and even if you take away all the guns in the world they will find another way to kill you. And honestly...I do not want any one government and/or law enforcement agency to be the only ones with a gun.

The problem is that governments responsible for the existing laws have been ignoring them for to long...and the laws written could have been written a lot better than they are. I'm not against "gun control"...and if done right it can curb more guns getting into the hands of criminals...but I am against hysteria based gun laws.

Don't think it's the time to have a gun debate when there was a mass slaughter of children. Some other time.

The shootings at Port Arthur had a profound effect on Tasmanians, I can't imagine what Norwegians are going through at the moment, it's sickening.

I agree Taz...but it never fails to come up.

I was NOT debating... just stating a case for why guns should NEVER be in the hands of ANYONE.... 80 dead kids should be more than reason enough to say "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!!" 

FACT!!!! The mongrel arsewipe who committed this atrocity could not have killed so many in such a short time had he not been able to access a firearm/gun.  Hence the more guns you remove from society the more lives you save.... nuff said 

Furthermore, Taz, the Port Arthur shootings had a profound effect right across Australia.... and it was the right time for the entire country to say not to firearms in the wild, where any dipshit with attitude could pick one up and slaughter an innocent.  So no, sweeping it under the carpet at such an emotive time serves only to delay that which is needed throughout the world... the destruction of ALL firearms, no exceptions.

with no guns would he not have just made more bombs? (since per reply 5, he thought to be responsible)

McVeigh didn't use a gun

fact: 168 dead, 680 injured, 324 buildings destroyed or damaged

you are absolutely correct. now is the time to step upon the backs and shoulders of the grief stricken, ignore the additional anguish you may cause by using the deaths of their loved ones as your opportune soapbox and yell to world your own personal beliefs

glad 2of3 is not close.

here's crossing fingers for no family/friends as victims

Agreed...I currently DO own weapons and I'd have a problem if they took that right away from me. If someone is determined to kill, you can kill someone with just about anything...vehicle, knife, rock, stick, bow and arrow, hand tools, bare hands, damn near anything. I actually carried a weapon as part of my job for 20+ years and I never investigated a crime committed by a 'gun' loading itself, picking itself up, taking it's safety off, aiming itself and squeezing it's own trigger. It's a tool whose use is determined by the 'person' using it. Yes, I agree, Giz, guns don't kill people, people kill people...

Guns take the effort out of it.

There IS NO legitimate function for, say auto-loading guns outside of the military.  I was a quite accomplished marksman in my teens...with a single-shot bolt action rifle.  If I demanded some absurd inalienable right to use it as personal defence I would have been capable of 'removing' a threat from a quarter mile away with ease.

The arguments pro gun ownership are banal, as it is a fact that the highest mortality rates from domestic gun use are exclusive to countries with the highest rates of gun ownership.

Convenient and expedient.

The sad thing is this gun culture is imbued into people's psyches and can never now be excised so there's no point in trying.

Instead we shall continue to shake our heads at situations such as this and blame anything AND everything OTHER than our beloved gun fetish.

he's been described as a right-wing Christian fundamentalist, therein lies part of the problem.

This is a true statement and attitudes about pro / con gun control have been debated, discussed, point / counterpointed and argued to death but I venture a guess that most of the time whichever side you were on before, you'll probably leave with when it's over. There are obviously contributing factors to which side a person takes, geography, background, personality, exposure and simply "how you were raised" but my viewpoint is from a RESPONSIBLE gun owner that respects a weapon, what it is and what it's capable of. The street thug, scumbag, criminal and crazy has no business whatsoever with a weapon but as long as they're out there wandering around 'strapped' (and they probably always will be), well, I think I'll hang on to mine too.... 

gmc2, this comment is not being directed to you personally.

Stereotypes can be applied to anyone and everyone depending on whoever is doing the labeling.

Let's please leave off any labeling, or quote labeling containing racial and/or religious implications.

Norway has undergone an insane, hateful attack. Children have been slaughtered. Can we not leave it at that and offer sympathies?