Michael, Sweden, Europe, World,

It was really sad to hear of the murder of Anna Lindh. It is also a sad thing that much of the world (I include myself) doesn't really learn of some of the brighter lights until they have been extinguished. She seemed like quite a woman.

The news here can't seem to report this story without saying "Sweden, a country that values being an open society" and that fact is one that prompts me to post. If I can envision a road toward the "Better World" -- a world without need of metal detectors and bodyguards -- then I always thought of Sweden as one of the places showing the way. With the memory of Olaf Palme, I have to think that maybe Sweden is looking down that road anxiously and will maybe have to decide that it is too dark to keep walking.

Again, really sad to hear about Ms. Lindh.

Peace,

If I can envision a road toward the "Better World" -- a world without need of metal detectors and bodyguards -- then I always thought of Sweden as one of the places showing the way. With the memory of Olaf Palme, I have to think that maybe Sweden is looking down that road anxiously and will maybe have to decide that it is too dark to keep walking.

I hope not. If they do I think all hope for the rest of us is lost.

Jim, Derrick,

it is indeed a sad day here. Whatever one might think of the current government, I believe the consensus is that she was one of the bright ones - of which there appears to be far too few of in the rest of all the party organizations to be comfortable. She was most definately thought of as a very strong - if not given - candidate for party leader/Prime minister once the current one (Göran Persson) stepped down.

I don't much mind the current government - the effective diff. between it and the other viable option isn't all that big IMO; but our current prime IMO suffers from illusions of grandeur and tends to get quite whiny when the people shows a different will than the official line...
And the assigned temp. Foreign minister is a right twit - consensus at work when we heard: "Oh no, not him!"

Ms. Lindh Mrs actually, 46 yo, married & 2 kids.....

The question of why there wasn't any bodyguards is, of course, heavily discussed. I can fully understand why politicians in general (the Prime minister does have constant guard) don't choose to use them unless there is a specific threat - it must get extremely suffocating.

We can only hope that, this time, they catch the guy. From what's been reported so far it doesn't sound like a planned attack, definately not like with Olof Palme - more like a deranged impulse thing. Much like what could happen to anyone walking around town - we don't yet know if her identity was an issue or not for the attack.

/Michael

it is indeed a sad day here. .....

Mrs actually, 46 yo, married & 2 kids.....

Yes, and that further sad aspect well reported here (I was just employing the knee-jerk politically correct "Ms."). Really sad.

The question of why there wasn't any bodyguards is, of course, heavily discussed. I can fully understand why politicians in general (the Prime minister does have constant guard) don't choose to use them unless there is a specific threat - it must get extremely suffocating.

I hope you find a balance that protects without suffocating.

We can only hope that, this time, they catch the guy. From what's been reported so far it doesn't sound like a planned attack, definately not like with Olof Palme - more like a deranged impulse thing. Much like what could happen to anyone walking around town - we don't yet know if her identity was an issue or not for the attack.

Every country has its own bell curve of politics and political extremism, with folks who could be considered (or frankly are) mentally ill sitting out on the far tails of the curve.

While I have been to Sweden once (actually worked at Karolinska for a few weeks) I won't claim anything other than ignorance. Still, the idea of complete coincidence or randomness I find hard to swallow given the proximity to the referendum. I hope they catch him.

A reasonable recap from the CSM here

Whatever one might think of the current government,

Seemed to be a relatively inoffensive government, if not one which seemed to particularly excel at governance.

we don't yet know if her identity was an issue or not for the attack.

My wife and I argued about this for a while this morning. She takes the position you just offered, whereas I think it was all about politics, one way or another. The question, to me, is which side of the euro referendum thought it stood to gain the most.

But, perhaps I've let conspiracy theories run away with my remaining sanity.

Who the fuck was she?

Type the name into Google and read.

Shockingly easy, any child can do it.

That would require effort.

So did posting that reply, and the one before it. If you want to expend no effort, try harder.

I'm trying real hard to not expend any effort.

And yet, you keep posting. Anyone who can disable accounts want to help him expend less effort? As a favor, I mean, since he's trying so hard

Now we just need someone to assassinate Hillary Rodham Clinton

You disturb me. You really do.

I pretty sure that's his intent.

It is indeed a truly sad thing. And the effects are being felt far outside Sweden. I went through similar things after the first real political assassination here in Holland in N hundred years, as the leding opposition candidate, Pim Fortuin, was gunned down a week before the elections. And now I'm hearing all-too-familiar reactions from the other nordic countries (of course I'm best connected with my native Finland).

Let's hope Northern Europe manages to keep the openness and informality, but I'm afraid there will be the usual defensive reactions

I also did not know of her, but I looked her up.

She seemed like a great woman. That's a shame. I also hope they catch the guy.

It sure seems from the circumstances that if it were just a coincidence, that would be a pretty incredible one. The only article I could find on the actual event (Washington Post.com didn't have anything but Sept 11 memorial coverage) didn't have much info. Does anyone have a good article with more details?

Does anyone have a good article with more details?

Plenty of BBC coverage.

It sure seems from the circumstances that if it were just a coincidence, that would be a pretty incredible one.

One thing none of these analysts have said is that there's a difference between saying the attack was unrelated to her identity and saying it was unrelated to her politics -- it sounds like the attacker could hardly have not recognised her, but he might still have been just trying to kill "someone famous" (a la John Lennon) and not been making a specifically political or Euro-related point.

Peter

it sounds like the attacker could hardly have not recognised her, but he might still have been just trying to kill "someone famous" (a la John Lennon) and not been making a specifically political or Euro-related point.

Yes, good point. And if it was somebody like a mentally ill paranoid person and they fade back into the shadows and are never caught, who would ever be able to guess what was going on in their mind? Once your image is regularly exposed on TV, the chances of having someone deranged fixate upon you as the person that is poisoning their thoughts, food, whatever, go way up, I think.

I hope they catch him, but I just can't feel very optimistic.

Thanks, that was a much better article. The only one I found was actually on the Post web site, but it must have been an early wire because it just said she had been sent to the hospital...

Well,

a man suspected for the murder - most likely the man on the pics that've been published - has been detained for questioning. BBC link

/Michael

BBC link

Ah. Surveillance cameras and possible DNA evidence, so maybe....maybe, eh?

It is still sad to look at some of the historical links from that BBS article...of someone I didn't know. Most spooky in retrospectr was listening to the BBC one evening say "injuries not considering life-threatening" only to find out the contrary the next morning, a phenomenon that I gather hit much harder there.

And I don't like politicans. I think. Too bad.