Muddling Toward Maturity Blog

NORWEGIAN FLAG MISTAKEN FOR CONFEDERATE FLAG

There doesn't seem to be an excess of knowledge among many people in the United States.  Kristinn  Taylor reports:

A couple in St. John’s, Michigan recently took down the red, white and blue flag of Norway displayed on the porch of their bed and breakfast after receiving continuous complaints by ignorant liberals who accused the couple of flying the Confederate battle flag.  (Video)

The Nordic Pineapple, run out of a mansion built in 1861 by a Union general, was started two years ago by Greg and Kjersten Offenbecker. The couple flew the flag of Norway from a pillar opposite the American flag to honor Kjersten’s Norwegian heritage (her grandfather immigrated from Norway.) Both the U.S. and Norway flags were taken down last week by the frustrated couple as the complaints intensified in recent months as woke liberals have embarked on a campaign of violence and intimidation against public reminders of the Confederacy, even razing tombstones of soldiers.

An ironic twist in the story is that the couple adopted two black children, boys aged 12 and 15.  (more...)

CULTURE CRISIS: NORWAY HAS SERIOUS IMMIGRATION PR0BLEMS

A transcript of the following video is available at  CBN News

See also my previous posts on Norway:

  --  O'REILLY DISGUSTED WITH MEDIA CALLING NORWAY TERRORIST "CHRISTIAN"

  --  OSLO: ALL SEXUAL ASSAULTS ENDING IN RAPE COMMITTED BY NON-WESTERNERS

  --  NORWAY FEELS STING OF CHINA'S NOBEL ANGER

  --  DERSHOWITZ - "NORWAY TO JEWS: YOU'RE NOT WELCOME HERE"

 - -  New images may yield viking ships

 - - JAY NORDLINGER'S IMPRESSIONS OF NORWAY

 - - NORWEGIANS INCENSED OVER BARACK OBAMA'S SNUBS

- -  CHRISTMAS TREE FACTS

- - NORWAY HONORS MEMORY OF NOBEL NOVELIST KNUT HAMSUN, A NAZI ADMIRER

 - - Oslo, Norway - Not a Safe Place

 - - Immigration Problems in Norway: Lessons for the United States

 - - Writing Against Islam in Norway Brings Beating

 - - Norway and Abortion: More than half of ethnic Norwegian women under age 25 choose abortion

 - - RAPE REPORTS SOAR IN OSLO, NORWAY - SIX TIMES HIGHER PER CAPITA THAN IN NEW YORK CITY

  - - High Percentage of Muslim Immigrants to Norway on Welfare

 - - FAIRY TALES IN NORWAY GET A SCRUBBING

OSLO: ALL SEXUAL ASSAULTS ENDING IN RAPE COMMITTED BY NON-WESTERNERS

O'REILLY DISGUSTED WITH MEDIA CALLING NORWAY TERRORIST "CHRISTIAN"

Bill O'Reilly has every reason to be outraged that the New York Times headlined: "Norway Charges Christian Extremist."  Click here for video.  Text is below.

BILL O'REILLY, FOX NEWS HOST: "Impact" segment tonight: mass murder in Norway. A vicious killer, Anders Breivik, has murdered at least 76 people in the Scandinavian nation of Norway. Breivik is a brutal fanatic who apparently objects to the presence of Muslims in Europe.

Last Friday he bombed buildings in Oslo and then took an automatic weapon to an island a few miles away gunning down 68 people. Norwegian authorities couldn't get to the island because they didn't have a helicopter, if you can believe it.

Now, on Sunday, the "New York Times" headlined "As Horrors Emerged, Norway Charges Christian extremist". A number of other news organizations like the "LA Times" and Reuters also played up the Christian angle. But Breivik is not a Christian. That's impossible. No one believing in Jesus commits mass murder. The man might have called himself a Christian on the net, but he is certainly not of that faith.

Also Breivik is not attached to any church, and in fact has criticized the Protestant belief system in general. The Christian angle came from a Norwegian policeman not from any fact finding. Once again, we can find no evidence, none, that this killer practiced Christianity in any way.

So why is the angle being played up? Two reasons: First, the liberal media wants to make an equivalency between the actions of Breivik and the Oklahoma City bomber Tim McVeigh and al Qaeda. The left wants you to believe that fundamentalists Christians are a threat just like crazy jihadists are.

In fact, in the "New York Times" today an analysis piece says that some believe we have overreacted to the Muslim threat in the world. Of course, that's absurd. Jihadists have killed tens of thousands of people all over the world. The Taliban, Iran and elements in Pakistan use governmental power to support terrorism by Muslims. But the left-wing press wants to compare nuts like Breivik and McVeigh to state-sponsored terrorism and worldwide jihad.

Again, dishonest and insane.

The second reason the liberal media is pushing the Christian angle is they don't like Christians very much because we are too judgmental. Many Christians oppose abortion. Gay marriage and legalized narcotics, secular left causes. The media understands the opposition is often based on religion. So they want to diminish Christianity and highlighting so-called Christian-based terror is a way to do that.

OSLO: ALL SEXUAL ASSAULTS ENDING IN RAPE COMMITTED BY NON-WESTERNERS

From Gateway Pundit:

Every rape in Oslo the past 5 years, where the rapist could be identified, was committed by a male of non-western background.

 

In Oslo all sexual assaults involving rape in the past year has been committed by males of non-western background this was the conclusion of a police report published today. This means that every single rape assault in the last five years, where the rapist could be identified, he was a man of foreign origin.

NORWAY FEELS STING OF CHINA'S NOBEL ANGER

 Bjoem H. Amland of the AP reports:

OSLO — Norway used to be China's top fresh salmon supplier, sending steadily growing volumes to exclusive restaurants in Beijing and Shanghai.

But since the Norwegian Nobel Committee gave the Nobel Peace Prize to imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, Norwegian salmon exporters say their fish is being held up for days or even weeks by Chinese food safety inspectors — devastating its freshness.

"We cannot get fish in there at all," said Henning Beltestad, the CEO of Norway's Leroey Seafood Group. . .   [more...]

Me:  China plays for keeps ...

DERSHOWITZ - "NORWAY TO JEWS: YOU'RE NOT WELCOME HERE"

That's the title Alan M. Dershowitz gives his article published in today's Wall Street Journal.  Dershowitz, a professor of law at Harvard, chronicles his recent visit to Norway.  What he says is sad, but more than sad.  It is utterly dismaying.  Where is that independent, robust spirit that Norway exhibited during World War II, when it was a friend of the Jews?  Dershowitz writes:

I recently completed a tour of Norwegian universities, where I spoke about international law as applied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But the tour nearly never happened.

Its sponsor, a Norwegian pro-Israel group, offered to have me lecture without any charge to the three major universities. Norwegian universities generally jump at any opportunity to invite lecturers from elsewhere. When my Harvard colleague Stephen Walt, co-author of "The Israel Lobby," came to Norway, he was immediately invited to present a lecture at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. Likewise with Ilan Pappe, a demonizer of Israel who teaches at Oxford.

My hosts expected, therefore, that their offer to have me present a different academic perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be eagerly accepted. I have written half a dozen books on the subject presenting a centrist view in support of the two-state solution. But the universities refused.

The dean of the law faculty at Bergen University said he would be "honored" to have me present a lecture "on the O.J. Simpson case," as long as I was willing to promise not to mention Israel. An administrator at the Trondheim school said that Israel was too "controversial."

The University of Oslo simply said "no" without offering an excuse. That led one journalist to wonder whether the Norwegian universities believe that I am "not entirely house-trained."

Only once before have I been prevented from lecturing at universities in a country. The other country was Apartheid South Africa.

NEWS SHORTS FROM NORWAY

Archaeologists find mini-Pompeii -  (HT: Drudge)

The most well-preserved pottery from the Stone Age ever found in Norway has turned up in an unspoiled dwelling site not far from Kristiansand. The find is considered an archaeological sensation.

The discovery of a “sealed” Stone Age house site from 3500 BC has stirred great excitement among archaeologists from Norway’s Museum of Cultural History at the University in Oslo. The settlement site at Hamresanden, close to Kristiansand’s airport at Kjevik in Southern Norway, looks like it was covered by a sandstorm, possibly in the course of a few hours.

The catastrophe for the Stone Age occupants has given archaeologists an untouched “mini-Pompeii,” containing both whole and reparable pots.  [more. . .]

New images may yield viking ships -

Archaeologists think they have found two more Viking ships buried in Vestfold County south of Oslo. The biggest may be 25 metres long, larger than any found so far.  [more. . .]

 

JAY NORDLINGER'S IMPRESSIONS OF NORWAY

Anyone interested in Norway will find Jay Nordlinger's four-part series, "Up in Norway," interesting.   For Part I, go here. For Part II, go here.  For Part III, go here.  And IV is here.  Nordlinger is a senior writer with National Review.   He offers impressionistic, desultory, snippets.  A few excerpts:

I have heard some Americans say that Norwegians are stand-offish, particularly the older ones. I myself don’t find that this is the case. I find the Norwegians almost uniformly lovely: exceptionally polite, patient, good-humored, friendly, helpful. It’s like some law — some national law — has decreed niceness. Read a map in the street, and chances are someone will stop to ask whether he can direct you. He may even walk you to your destination. . .

Boy, do they smoke here in Norway. I don’t sense that smoking has been stigmatized, like it has in the U.S. . .

Oslo is the most expensive city I have ever been in, by far. (I have not been to Tokyo, so can’t compare.) The sticker shock never ceases. Everything is like quadruple a normal price. . .   An American who knows this place well recalls her first week here: “I ordered a beer, and I was later given

NORWEGIANS INCENSED OVER BARACK OBAMA'S SNUBS

Story here.    (HT: Drudge)

CHRISTMAS TREE FACTS

Every year since 1947, the people of Oslo, Norway have given a Christmas tree to the city of Westminster, England. The gift is an expression of good will and gratitude for Britain's help to Norway during World War II.

From the University of Illinois Extension:

• Christmas trees have been sold commercially in the United States since about 1850.
• Until fairly recently, all Christmas trees came from the forest.
• In 2002, Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Washington, New York, and Virginia were the top Christmas tree producing states. Oregon was the leading producer of Christmas trees – 6.5 million in 2002.
• The best selling trees are Scotch pine, Douglas fir, Noble fir, Fraser fir, Virginia pine, balsam fir and white pine.
• More than 2,000 trees are usually planted per acre. On an average 1,000-1,500 of these trees will survive. In the North, maybe, 750 trees will remain. Almost all trees require shearing to attain the Christmas tree shape. At six to seven feet, trees are ready for harvest. It takes six to ten years of fighting heavy rain, wind, hail and drought to get a mature tree.
• In the United States, there are more than 21, 000 Christmas tree growers.
• In the United States, there are around a half billion Real Christmas Trees growing on U.S. farms.
• In the United States, there are more than 12,000 cut-your-own farms.
• In 1979, the National Christmas Tree was not lighted except for the top ornament. This was done in honor of the American hostages in Iran.

NORWAY HONORS MEMORY OF NOBEL NOVELIST KNUT HAMSUN, A NAZI ADMIRER

Disgusting.  This article  details Norway's moral relativism.

Oslo, Norway Loaded Down With Snow

 Interesting account here (in English!)

Oslo, Norway - Not a Safe Place

Ponder this report.

**

Ponder also this:

Crime happens because criminals know they can get away with it. Oslo has been mau-maued into its present condition by gangs, immigrant hooligans, and imported beggars and prostitutes.

In his book, Moment of Truth in Iraq, Michael Yon makes the point that small details are essential to a successful battle. Thus, if he is off to observe some engagement with the enemy, he will not get in a vehicle with dirty windows, or one with a slovenly crew. He knows from experience that the attention to detail and the realization that preparation is essential means the difference between success and failure.

Immigration Problems in Norway: Lessons for the United States

In a wide-ranging article dealing with immigration, Stanley Kurtz looks at the Obama and Clinton family unification proposals against the backdrop of European experience.  As for Norway, Kurtz says:

It turns out that Conservative-party politicians in Oslo are calling for a moratorium on immigrant-family reunification. (Norway’s Conservative party is fiscally conservative but socially liberal, so this is a novel development.) Oslo city council leader Erling Lae argues that out-of-control family reunification is the most important cause of unemployment, income disparities, and lack of assimilation in Norway’s capital. Pakistani Muslims are a key non-Western group in Norway, and apparently the seclusion of immigrant brides and other female relatives is at the root of Norway’s immigration-driven troubles.

So socially liberal Norway is turning against family reunification, at the very moment Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are moving to broaden the family-reunification provisions of America’s immigration bill. Even without

Writing Against Islam in Norway Brings Beating

Robert Spencer reports:

On Thursday, April 12, a gang of Somali thugs on a downtown Oslo street attacked Kadra, a Somali woman who now lives in Norway, and beat her senseless, breaking several of her ribs. They were enraged at her for her recent statement that the Qur’an’s views of women needed reevaluation. They also might have been angry because of her role in revealing the widespread support among imams in Norway for female genital mutilation; Kadra exposed their support for this horrific procedure using a hidden camera in a 2000 documentary for Norwegian television.

As they beat her, Kadra’s attackers shouted Allahu akbar – Allah is great – and recited verses from the Qur’an. “I was terrified,” she said. “While I lay on the pavement they kicked me and screamed that I had trampled on the Koran.”  (more)

Once again the "tolerance" and "restraint" shown by followers of the "religion of peace" is on display for all the world to see.  Sure.

Norway and Abortion: More than half of ethnic Norwegian women under age 25 choose abortion

From the January 12, 2007 Aftenposten:

A woman's right to choose abortion is deeply engrained in Norwegian society, but it's only most common among young women and women with little education, says Professor Anne Eskild of Akershus University Hospital.

Eskild's study marked the first time that researchers tracked the incidence of abortions and births among

RAPE REPORTS SOAR IN OSLO, NORWAY - SIX TIMES HIGHER PER CAPITA THAN IN NEW YORK CITY

Norway's Aftenposten newspaper headlines: "Rape Reports Soar in Oslo."

Nearly 300 women have sought help so far this year from Oslo's emergency clinic handling rape victims. That's a higher per capita rate than New York City's, and the clinic is having trouble meeting demand.

Fjordman, who reported on this, says the Oslo's rape numbers are six times as high per capita as in New York City.   He notes  that "Two out of three charged with rape in Norway’s capital are immigrants with a non-western background according to a police study."   

FAIRY TALES IN NORWAY GET A SCRUBBING

No one said political correctness doesn't have its inanities.  Fjordman reports at the Brussels Journal the following:

Document.no, Norway's largest independent weblog, reports that in Norwegian kindergartens, pigs in traditional fairy tales are now quietly being replaced with other animals. A person who visits kindergartens to read fairy tales experienced that in stories by Asbjørnsen and Moe, the Norwegian equivalent of the Brothers Grimm, the word pig had been replaced with fox. When she discovered the same thing happening in another kindergarten, she wondered whether this was a new policy.

In Sweden previously, the wording of several older books for children such as Pippi Longstocking has been changed to make them more "culturally sensitive."

Winnie the Pooh and Foxlet, anyone? Three Little Foxes? . . .

High Percentage of Muslim Immigrants to Norway on Welfare

Fjordman, writing in the Brussels Journal, offers some interesting comments on welfare immigration in Norway.

I got some angry comments at Jihad Watch some days ago when I posted an essay saying that: “The welfare state is now just a big pyramid scheme where Leftist parties take our money and give it to Muslim immigrants in return for voter support. The welfare state in fact provides insecurity, since it is used to fund the Muslim colonization of the continent.”

Well, read this article [in English] in the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten:

Half of the first immigrants to Norway in the first half of the 1970s are now living on state payments. The study focused on 2,500 immigrants from Pakistan, India, Turkey and Morocco born between