Eivind Berge, the Norwegian Men’s Rights blogger who was arrested after making repeated death threats against police on his blog, has been released from jail. The country’s Supreme Court has ruled that his comments – in which, among other things, he talked about how killing police was on his “bucket list” – are not illegal. His property will be returned to him and he is evidently entitled to compensation for his time in jail.
As far as I can figure it from the Google-translated articles I’ve read, the Supreme Court has ruled that statements on the internet are not “public” and therefore his threats don’t count as “incitement” under the law. Here’s what one article says:
Supreme Court’s Appeals Committee believes statements Berge has made on his blog are not covered by the Freedom of the definition in the Penal Code. incitement to violence and murder of police officers are therefore not presented publicly in the legal sense and therefore is not criminal, says the Supreme Court.
Apparently the issue was a fairly narrow legal one. According to the same article, the law under which he was prosecuted (written long before the birth of the Internet) “operates with a public safety and publishing concept that … do not take account of electronic publishing on the Internet.” The majority on the Supreme Court, the article goes on to say, felt that “the indictment includes actions that are clearly worthy of punishment,” but that existing law does not allow punishment for statements made on the Internet.
If anyone here knows Norwegian, let me know if this is correct. Here and here are several more articles in Norwegian, translated by Google. Here’s an article in English, written before the Supreme Court rendered its judgment, that spells out the issues a little more clearly.
On his blog, Berge celebrates his victory in the courts:
My blog is legal after all. The police had no lawful basis for pursuing criminal charges against me. This means the case has collapsed for the prosecution and I will be entitled to compensation for the three weeks I spent in prison. I was arrested and jailed for speech which the Supreme Court has ruled is legal, so obviously the entire prosecution was utterly baseless.
He considers his release a giant victory for Men’s Rights:
Being a political prisoner provided a welcome boost to my activism. … The entire process has been tremendously empowering for the Men’s Rights Movement. This spectacular prosecution of an MRA sparked debate and demonstrated to the horror of the feminist establishment that there are more antifeminists out there than they knew. I am not some kind of extremist easily dismissed, even though some of my writings may appear somewhat ungenteel. While my kind of violent rhetoric is legal, it is no longer needed. We are strong enough to fight feminism in more elegant and subtle ways now.
I will highlight some of Berge’s “ungenteel” opinions in future posts.
See here and here for previous posts of mine on Berge, which include many examples of his “violent rhetoric.”
First step to getting a girlfriend: stop referring to yourself (or anyone) as “incel.” That is not a thing. When you start using fake Internet medical conditions to describe your inability to get laid, you’re ensuring that you will remain un-laid indefinitely.
Second through millionth steps: Chill, dude. Nobody owes you shit. Deal with it.
No complaints on my end, though. This thread is hilarious.
Government-issued wingmen. WTF.
That’s the next step, isn’t it? When the women hired to go on fake dates with this guy refuse to be his girlfriend, the government will have to start hiring men to be his fake friends and talk him up to his fake dates. They can go to a party staffed with civil servants hired to set a party mood, and afterwards the government can rent him a house with a nice kitchen where a notary public will help him make spaghetti.
Hannah Arendt misjudged Zionism, and had no right to deny it to Jews who didn’t have the privilege of refuge in New York. And the whole affair she had with Heidegger. Ewww.
Yeah, I might not be very knowledgeable about dating, but isn’t the wingman supposed to help you approach the ladies? If the government is already issuing a date for you, why would you need a wingman? Is he just going to sit there and watch the both of them?
This is all a needlessly complicated thing and all for the benefit of a few whiny men who think they should be the centre of the universe. I mean, forget poverty, homelessness, lack of proper health care, racism, etc. What’s really important is that these jerks get a date.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE WORLD IS A MAN’S BONER. Myoo, I mean really. Sheesh.
Dude, Arendt broke up with Heidegger when he became a Nazi.
…privilege of refuge? Are you for real? Do I have to spell out the ugly shit that went on so that she HAD to take refuge?
The government issued wingmen thing might be the stupidest aspect of this impossibly stupid idea. I have a number of guy friends who are fairly successful at meeting and dating women. You think you’d have to worry about women scamming the system?
I’m pretty sure a not insignificant portion of the guys paid to wing are just going to take the money and hit on the government sanctioned dates..
…I still can’t get over the fact that Eurosabra called a person who had to take refuge from FUCKING NAZI GERMANY as privileged. What in the actual fuck is wrong with you, Eurosabra?
She made it out before the Holocaust. She had no right to lecture Israelis, who survives Europe or the War of Independence, about Zionism or Eichmann. Maybe the mess in Syria means we finally get Brunner, too.
eurosabra, i’m not going to debate the merits of your particular interest, but why do you come to a misogyny mocking blog to discuss it?
avictimofmurders, you are being ridiculous. There is no need for government-mandated girlfriends, just more outreach toward neglected young men who are neglected in our misandrist culture.
Personally, I’ve always found it easiest to just GO for it. I’m an average-looking young man, but I’m not model-gorgeous. I do just fine, and I am currently in an excellent long-term relationship with a compatible woman – like myself, semi-attractive, semi-intelligent. How do I do it? I always take the jump, every time. I’m in a bit of a rush, but I’ll expand on this point later.
BigMomma – Because he’s a misogynist, so it’s a good fit.
…Also, I think his thing against Hannah Arendt is personal because he is both evil and banal.
zzzing.
1. please please please do so, I would love to hear your idea of dating advice
2. “expand” you sure will, you big ol’ gasbag
@cliff, yeah, i got that he was a misogynist…but he really goes off on tangents. But i suppose wildly off-topic can still be fairly on-topic for Manboobz.
“…Also, I think his thing against Hannah Arendt is personal because he is both evil and banal.
zzzing.”
Heheheheheh.
No, but seriously, Eurosabra…for a person who talked about someone being dead as if that cancels out their contributions, you sure are mad about her, bro.
This bizarro thread was just being bizarre, but then here came good ‘ol Mikey Steelepole to tell us that he feels that neglected people are being neglected. Right, it was misandry that someone told you you couldn’t write for shit. I keep believing that more and more as you…continue to suck at writing. Also, are you going for being a new sort of MRA dating guru now? “Well, I’m semi-attractive *and* semi-intelligent, and so are you, it’s meant to be!”
Steele, please, on your own blog, dispense your dating advice. This is your niche as a writer.
@BigMomma Well, to be fair, I DID set him off by mentioning Arendt…because one doesn’t simply forget stuff like that (and I say that as someone halfway through “Origins of Totalitarianism”. Very dense and great book).
Robert: “Scum and murderers”? Because they wouldn’t set you up on a date?
What are you, 12? You can’t call a dating service? No matchmakers to hire? No craiglist? No coffee shops?
Your problem seems completely voluntary, you have chosen to give up, and whine that no one is looking out for you; when you aren’t looking out for yourself.
And you don’t get it that rape is being hit with a tennis racquet, and not playing tennis is going without sex?
You’re a sick fuck.
Apparently Steele met his semi-attractive, semi-intelligent ladyfriend by jumping on her.
…and now they are so semi-happy together!
does Ella (shit, is that her name?) know that he thinks she is semi-intelligent (wtf is semi-intelligent?). And surely, if he finds her attractive then she is attractive…not semi-attractive?
Steele’s new post: http://antimanboobz.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/breaking-futrelle-outs-an-innocent-man/
The “innocent man” is someone issuing anonymous threats.
You know, I *am* sympathetic to people who can’t get dates. I know a woman who’s in her midtwenties and has never had a date, a man who got his first kiss during his last year of college, a man who in in his thirties and has never had a girlfriend. It’s rough. It’s lonely, you feel like no one could ever love you or desire you, you wonder what’s wrong with you when no one wants you…
But, man, when you say it’s worse than rape, it just KILLS my sympathy.
And, dude, six months? I spent all my teenage years incel! And I have a vagina and everything!
Oh, come ON. I came for the waters. I was misinformed.
Anti-Zionists keep using Arendt and Bernard Lazare as some kind of QED, when they’re not. But, y’know, to them it’s a ahem discursive issue. Nit a schwue oyf leben und toyt.
can we please not feed Eurosabra?