Norway

July 3, 2014 By Fausta

ISIS’s Chilean spokesman UPDATED

The man in this video, Abu Safiyya, spokesman for jihadist terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), was identified by Norwegian public TV NRK as 24-year old Bastián Alexis Vásquez.

Vásquez was born and raised in Norway of Chilean parents. After converting to Islam he took the name Muhammad Jundullah or Abu Saffiya, and joined radical islamist Norwegian group. “Profetens Ummah”.

ISIS English-language outfit, Al-Hayat media, released two videos Sunday, one of which features Abu Safiyya,

The high production values make Al-Hayat videos appear far more sophisticated than the average jihadist propaganda and serve to attract Western viewers, who may be inclined to join ISIS. Unlike other jihadist groups, they are seeking to build their numbers by persuading Western Muslims–not jihadists already active in the area. This explains the development of a theme song and editing of a mass execution to make it look like a scene out of a World War II movie. ISIS’s adeptness with media makes it one of the most dangerous of such threats against the Western world, and as it expands, expect the group to parade its international recruits more prominently in subsequent videos.

The second video is much violent, as you can see here.

ISIS declared a caliphate last Sunday. Among other propaganda released is this other video, not as polished, in Spanish (which I translated), staking a claim on Spain,

UPDATE:
Abu/Bastián is the guy who taunted Obama to buy diapers.

July 25, 2011 By Fausta

Norway: Kill 94, serve 21

Mr BIngley pointed this out on Friday,

The maximum sentence for any crime in Norway is 21 years.

Today the Daily Caller confirms it,
Police: Alleged Norwegian mass murderer faces just 21 years in prison

Oslo police chief of staff Roger Andresen told the San Francisco Chronicle that the maximum prison term suspected killer Anders Behring Breivik could face is 21 years under Norwegian law.

Two law professors at the University of Oslo confirmed Andresen’s assessment.

“21 years in prison is the maximum,” Professor Per Ole Johansen told The Daily Caller.

“The max punishment may — theoretically — be increased, but not for crimes which are already committed,” he said, when asked whether it was possible for the punishment to be increased considering the scale of this specific mass crime.

“[I]f the prisoner behaves, he or she will probably be released several years earlier,” Professor Nils Christie told TheDC while also confirming that 21 years is the maximum penalty in Norway.

As Jim Treacher says, “So that’s about 82 days in prison per murder victim.”

Anders Behring Breivik is 32. He’ll be out before he’s in his mid-fifties.

UPDATE,
Linked by Adele. Thanks!

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July 23, 2011 By Fausta

Norway: Who is Anders Behring Breivik?

Contrary to initial reports, the murderous terrorist is not an Islamist,

Bomb Suspect Is a Mystery

The 32-year-old man suspected of massacring at least 80 young people at a summer camp in Norway and setting off a bomb in downtown Oslo that killed at least seven is a mystery to investigators: a right-winger with anti-Muslim views but no known links to hard-core extremists.

“He just came out of nowhere,” a police official said.

Public broadcaster NRK and several other Norwegian media outlets identified the suspected attacker as Anders Behring Breivik, a blond, blue-eyed Norwegian who expressed right-wing and anti-Muslim views on the Internet. Police have the suspect in custody.

Norwegian news agency NTB said Mr. Breivik legally owned several firearms and belonged to a gun club. He ran an agricultural firm growing vegetables, an enterprise that could have helped him secure large amounts of fertilizer, a potential ingredient in bombs.

But he didn’t belong to any known factions in Norway’s small and splintered extreme-right movement and had no criminal record except for some minor offenses, the police official told the Associated Press.

Was he acting alone?

Oslo police inspector Einar Aas told Norwegian daily VG that police are currently investigating the possibility of a second shooter on the island. According to media reports, witnesses said a man who was not wearing a police uniform also fired shots.

What would it mean for the region?

Analysis firm Stratfor Global Intelligens said the wider implications for the rest of Europe will depend on who stands behind the attack.

If the attack is the work of a disturbed individual acting alone, the events will have few long-ranging repercussions beyond a reworking of domestic security procedures in Norway, Stratfor said.

If a person or group with far-right or neo-Nazi leanings was behind the attack, the incident could lead to a temporary loss of popularity for the far right across Europe, though long-term repercussions are unlikely, it added.

The WSJ article, At Least 91 Dead in Norway Attacks, illustrates well how a police investigation develops.

Car bomb responsible for Oslo explosion

UPDATE:
Gun attack,

Shortly after the explosions, which appeared to be a bomb attack, a man dressed as a police officer opened fire on a summer camp for young members of the ruling Labor Party on the island of Utoya in the Oslo fjord, about 25 miles from the city, and wounded at least five, a Norwegian security official said.
…
A terror group, Ansar al-Jihad al-Alami, or the Helpers of the Global Jihad, issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, according to Will McCants, a terrorism analyst at C.N.A., a research institute that studies terrorism. The message said the attack was a response to Norwegian forces’ presence in Afghanistan and to unspecified insults to the Prophet Muhammad. “We have warned since the Stockholm raid of more operations,” the group said, according to Mr. McCants’ translation, apparently referring to a bombing in Sweden in December 2010. “What you see is only the beginning, and there is more to come.” The claim could not be confirmed.

H/t Instapundit.

Gates of Vienna and The Guardian have constant updates.

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Earlier today,

Oslo Explosion: One of Two Blasts Result of Massive Vehicle Bomb, Sources Say

At least one of two explosions that rocked a Norwegian government building in Oslo today was result of a massive vehicle bomb, according to U.S. government sources on the scene.

The tangled wreckage of a vehicle was seen near the Norwegian government building that was targeted in the blast, officials said. It was not clear if the car was a bomb vehicle or near the site of a blast. At least one explosion was the result of a massive vehicle bomb, U.S. government sources said.

Richard Fernandez:

Now that human agency has been identified the next question will be who did it? No arrests or official accusations have yet been made, but Will Heaven, blogging in the Telegraph, cites three possible motives for an attack, all standard reasons for having incurred the wrath of al-Qaeda or a similar group. Others cite Norway’s attempts to deport an Islamic cleric, Mullah Krekar, who predicted dire consequences for Norwegian officialdom should they attempt to move against him. “Krekar’s defense attorney Brynjar Meling has tried to downplay Krekar’s remarks, saying they were merely a response to threats made against Krekar himself and in line with the teachings of the Koran.”

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December 11, 2009 By Fausta

Yes, but could they tell the difference?

Snubbed Norwegians replace absent Obama at event with … cardboard cutout

Yessiree…the cutout made a personal appearance

a “Save the Children” benefit concert, where organizers replaced him with an Obama cardboard cutout. Obama also won’t be around for Friday’s Nobel Concert.

Here he is on stage right:

In other Oslo news, check out Michelle Obama’s Mirror’s Blog on Golden Geese Land in Oslo.

December 10, 2009 By Fausta

Obama’s Nobel Prize ceremony

You can watch it live here (h/t The Corner).

Adding to the list of events Obama won’t be attending,

a dinner with the Nobel Peace Prize Committee
a press conference
a TV interview

Plus the other events I mentioned yesterday.

Nobel peace prize: Norwegians incensed over Barack Obama’s snubs

According to a poll published by the daily tabloid VG, 44% of Norwegians believe it was rude of Obama to cancel his scheduled lunch with King Harald, with only 34% saying they believe it was acceptable.

“Of all the things he is cancelling, I think the worst is cancelling the lunch with the king,” said Siv Jensen, the leader of the largest party in opposition, the populist Progress party. “This is a central part of our government system. He should respect the monarchy,” she told VG.

I like that: a progressive populist defending the monarch.

Anyhoo, like the fox with healthy self-esteem who said “Jumping after those grapes was a great workout even when I couldn’t reach any,”

The Norwegian Nobel committee, which awards the peace prize, dismissed the criticism. “We always knew that there were too many events in the programme. Obama has to govern the US and we were told early on that he could not commit to all of them,” said Geir Lundestad, secretary of the committee.

Rest assured the committee members know that Obama respects them in the morning.

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Please note there will be no podcast today.

December 9, 2009 By Fausta

Obama: How not to make friends, but influence people nonetheless

obama_contempt
Smart diplomacy in action:
Will Obama Snub the King?

The question they should be asking is not will he, but how; according to the article, Obama

Declined an invitation to lunch with King Harald V
Will not attend the Peace Center exhibit in his honor, even when Prize winners traditionally open the exhibitions about their work that accompany the Nobel festivities.
won’t attend concert in his honor in Oslo on Friday

That’s right, Obama’s not showing up to lunch with the king, to inaugurate an exhibit, a concert, all events about himself. Must be modesty that prevents him?

That may have something to do with Obama’s uncharacteristic shunning of the press. Whereas other prize winners have viewed the standard Nobel Peace Prize CNN interview as an opportunity to address the world for a full hour, Obama seems unwilling to answer any questions at all. There will be no press conference, just a statement from the president.

It’s high time Barack Obama learnt some manners, says Con Coughlin.