Norway Mourns

Somewhere in this world, good news is being heard. However, the latest news from here and abroad leaves much to be desired. The latest tragedy took part in Norway, as a lone, delusional gunman was able to detonate a bomb and quickly appear twenty miles away to kill people at his leisure.

At the latest report, a car-bomb was detonated in front of an Oslo, Norway government building causing several deaths and injuries creating chaos not unlike a normal military diversionary action. The gunman, somehow boarded a ferry ( which he later disabled) to a famous island that was well-known for a summer camp specially designed for families and their children for annual summer celebrations.

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This picturesque island is located in the Tyrifjorden fjord outside Oslo and owned by the AUF ( the Labour Party Youth) and the Labour Party, itself. The AUF is a multi-cultural organization with a clear stance against racism and xenophobia, and a buzzing melting-pot. These summer-camps at Utoeya generate massive media coverage and regularily set the national political agenda. A place where a delusional extremist can "make a statement". Over the past five decades, Utoeya has become a precious asset for the AUF and the Labour Party- socially and political. The current Norwegian Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg has spent parts of his summer holidays every year from the age of 14 attending activities at this site.

The AUF summer camp at Utoeya is the place that party leaders and other prominent political figures simply have to attend. Every summer, 70-1,000 Labour youths gather for political debate and seminars and classic summer fun.

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Prime Minister Stoltenberg spoke to the Norwegian people from Oslo's City Hall, July 26th. In portions of his address to Norwegian youth, he stated:

--------------Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg -----------------

Secondly, I want to say this to all the young people here. The massacre on Utøya was an attack against young people's dreams of being able to help to make the world a better place. Your dreams have been crushed, but your dreams can be fulfilled...You can make a difference....Get involved. Care. Take part in debates..Use your vote. Free elections are the jewel in the crown of democracy..."

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Nan Webster, a Vennskap member, has relatives living in Norway. Nan received a phonecall from Norway. Nan writes: " Our cousin Yngve Bjerke and his wife Gunn were on their way home from a mountain cabin and got caught in a traffic jam because of the terrorism. They didn't know what was happening at first, and then heard the screaming and shots. People who had boats were going out with their boats to save as many children as they could. It was terrible to say the least. Norway will NEVER be the same."

The violence was the deadliest in Norway since World War II.

Breaking News: Terrorist Attack in Norway

The news out of Norway isn't  very good today -- the prime minister's office was bombed in Oslo today, and several hours later, a man impersonating a police officer opened fire on a youth camp located on an island north of Trondheim where the prime minister was supposed to speak tomorrow.  At this point, nobody knows who is behind these acts, or even if they are the work of an organization or of rogue individuals.  A 32-year-old Norwegian citizen (male) is in custody, but that's all the information that has been released.  Early on, American news speculated about Al Qaeda, but more recently, they have been discussing  a Norwegian group that is in opposition to the country's leading political party.  All media outlets seem to agree, though, that at this point there's no solid information to go on and it's too early to assign blame.  

Here are links to articles with more information:
BBC

MSNBC

New York Times

Chciago Tribune

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
CNN
International Business Times
Associated Press
Sheboyan Press
Reuters (video)
Aftenposten (in Norwegian)

ANNOUNCING: "The King and Queen of Norway"

King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway will be visiting The United States this fall.

-------------- King Harald V and Queen Sonja-----------------

Carolyn Johnson of Kiel found the announcement on the web and thought it newsworthy.

Their majesties will travel on October 11th, 2011 to Minnesota and continue to Iowa in our Midwestern area. Following their Midwest visit, the couple will journey on to New York City. The full visitation has not been announced, but it is understood that the royal couple will meet with government and state officials of the territories where many Norwegian immigrants settled a century ago.

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King Harald and Queen Sonja are invited by the American-Scandinavian foundation to be special guests at a gala ball celebrating the AFS centennial anniversary. Although no official announcements have been made, it is believed that representatives of the Danish monarchy will be at the event, as well as representatives from Sweden.

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The American-Scandinavian Foundation (AFS) promotes international understanding and relationships through educational and cultural exchanges between the US and Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Founded in 1910 by Danish-American industrialist Niels Poulson, the AFS is a publicly supported, non-profit organization carrying on an extensive exchange between these countries.

Vennskap Lodge has enjoyed presentations of several students from Scandinavian schools who have been studying in our area high schools. Stay tuned for further announcements.

Details will be announced when available.

Independence Day

July opens with one of the most important days in American history. Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, a federal holiday in our United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence July 4th, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britian. However, there are historians that believe the true signing date was a month later, being August 2, 1776.

This denotes a time of celebrating by fireworks and patriotic songs such as "The National Anthem", "Stars and Stripes Forever", "Yankee Doodle" in the north, to "Dixie" in the south. The United States is a diverse nation made up of a dynamic mixture of our nation's immigrants who have fought to make our nation a beacon of freedom, envied by many other nations.

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One of these warriors of foreign descend was honored recently for his actions in American history. Believing strongly in the rights of free-men, a Norwegian-American named Hans Christian Heg died for America while fighting in the War between the North and the South.

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Heg was commanding The Fifteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment, a regiment consisting mostly of 90% Norwegian immigrants with the remainder being of Swedish, Danish and Dutch men. Shot astride his horse at the Battle of Chickamauga, Heg was the the highest-ranking Army officer from Wisconsin killed in the Civil War.

This Civil War hero was born in Lier, Norway whose father immigrated to the Racine area when Hans was eleven years-old. Hans left to find gold with the "Forty-Niners", but returned to Wisconsin at the death of his father. Hans was an avid "Anti-slavery activist" and the first Norwegian-American elected state-wide in Wisconsin. At the outbreak of the Civil war, Heg organized the Wisconsin regiment at Camp Randall. This regiment was the only Scandinavian regiment that fought on either side. After his death at Chickamauga and the end of the war, a statue of the war hero was erected and stands next to the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison .

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Recently,a youth band from Norway played a concert in a wreath-laying ceremony in Wind Lake to honor his memory . Wind Lake and the surrounding Town of Norway lay claim to the first Norwegian Lutheran Church, and the first Norwegian-language newspaper in Wisconsin.

In his honor, and all those who have fought and died for our freedom, we give thanks to Col Hans Heg, and the 1776 "Committee of Five", with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author of The Declaration and celebrate our independence this and every July fourth.