A new crop of terrorists

Consumer Freedom ^ | 8-14-02 | Consumer Freedom

[Liberty Teeth]

A new crop of terrorists

Empire Farm Days is the largest outdoor farm show in the Northeastern United States. Over 75,000 farmers and other visitors flock to Seneca Falls, New York each year to see the latest in farming equipment, livestock-raising methods, and crop-growing techniques. But this year, says the Rochester (NY) Democrat and Gazette, those who attend are also learning about animal-rights activists who pose “a new threat to their crops and livestock.”

Law enforcement is taking the threat seriously: “We are going to closely monitor the animal rights people,” says Alan Morse, a member of the New York State Police Counter-Terrorism Intelligence Unit. “There’s always factions that don’t think [peaceful activists] go far enough and think direct action is needed.”

Such “direct action” is also being investigated further to the west, where prosecutors from three Indiana counties are asking the public for help in solving at least three eco-terror crimes. Two of these cases involved arsons at home building sites, crimes for which the violent Earth Liberation Front has publicly claimed guilt. The third was a May 3 gasoline-bombing attack directed at a Bloomington poultry processing plant; the Animal Liberation Front has acknowledged its responsibility for this crime.

Speaking of the dramatic conflagrations that resulted from these cowardly attacks, Indiana state representative Brent Steele told reporters that “the public needs to know we almost lost a firefighter. This is not just a law enforcement problem; it threatens the safety and lives of everyone in our communities.”

[Liberty Teeth]

Any hoosiers familiar with these terrorist attacks?

[Liberty Teeth]

August 13, 2002

Prosecutors seek public's help to solve local arsons

By Kurt Van der Dussen,
Herald-Times Staff Writer
The prosecutors of Monroe, Morgan and Lawrence counties are asking the public to provide them and police with any tips they can about cases of arson as eco-terrorism.

Monroe County Prosecutor Carl Salzmann, Morgan deputy prosecutor Terry Iacoli and state Rep. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, conducted a joint news conference Monday.

They said they're seeking help from the public to fight what they called an increasingly violent campaign of destruction and arson by a handful of radicals.

Steele, representing Lawrence County Prosecutor Scott Callahan, said it is unacceptable for any public official to express anything but complete opposition to acts of eco-terrorism, such as the June 27 burning of the model home at the controversial Pedigo Bay estates development on Lake Monroe. Developer Steve Smith had planned to live in the home.

That was the second house fire in Monroe County thought to be a case of arson by eco-terrorists. The other was a January 2000 fire that destroyed a home under construction in the Sterling Woods subdivision north of Lake Monroe, for which the Earth Liberation Front claimed responsibility.

No group has claimed responsibility for the fire at Pedigo Bay, which is still under investigation. Steele said he has asked U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar to see if more funding can be directed to the FBI investigation to beef it up.

Steele said headlines about such incidents and "the political spin" by radical groups "often overshadow the personal tragedy in these cases. A home may be an object of political terrorism for some, but to the people that are the victims, a burnt-out shell represents lost dreams and a touchstone of fear that never goes away."

Steele also alluded to the May 3 gasoline-bombing of Sims Poultry and said both the Pedigo Bay and Sims Poultry fires put firefighters at grave risk.

The Sims fire was claimed by the Animal Liberation Front group.

"The public needs to know we almost lost a firefighter," Steele said. "This is not just a law enforcement problem; it threatens the safety and lives of everyone in our communities."

"We've been lucky twice. The next time we may not be so lucky," Salzmann said of the two Monroe house fires and the Sims Poultry bombing.

In the Sims case, Salzmann said, "If all of the gasoline bombs had detonated as the terrorists had intended, that whole residential block and all of the families who live there would have been at risk. Given the early morning hour, lives certainly would have been lost."

Iacoli said eco-terrorism in Morgan County to date has focused on the destruction of logging equipment and tree-spikings that endanger loggers, done by what he called "zealots." He said Morgan County doesn't want arson and bombings to spread there.

"We are here because we need the public's help," Salzmann said. "Someone knows who is doing this. We need them to come forward before someone gets killed."

He said information can be called in anonymously to the Indiana arson hot line at (800) 382-4628, while acts of terrorism can be reported to the FBI Anti-Terrorism Hot line at (866) 483-5137.

Salzmann said the news conference was called because of Internet Web site traffic suggesting that area developers "apparently haven't learned their lesson" and need to be hit again.

"I certainly hope someone has a pang of conscience and comes forward," he said.

Salzmann said he hopes to conduct a summit with community leaders to "pool our resources, share information and demonstrate our solidarity" in dealing with the issue.

Reporter Kurt Van der Dussen can be reached at 331-4372 or by e-mail at kvd@heraldt.com.

[bloggerjohn]

Consumer Freedom is a well-funded front group for McDonald's et al, that has little to do with consumers or freedom ;') I would take anything they say with a grain of salt. Not that they are entirely incorrect, but it's still professionally written flak and not any sort of real citizen's group.

[Liberty Teeth]

Its always competing interests and their front groups.

Consumer Freedom has documented some links back to these envirowhacko groups. This is how it works I guess.

[Glutton]

New arsonists working a political cause

[Eala]

eco-terror crimes

The term "eco-terror" is nothing more than a politically-correct attempt to soften the crime. It's criminal activity: no more, no less. When you commit arson you've committed arson, you've committed a crime, and it should not matter in the least that you did it to:
make a protest for the "ecology"
knock down a rival gang
kill someone
cover up another crime
knock down a resister to your extortion racket
get your jollies
make a political protest
exact revenge
and so on.

IMHO, given the readiness with which the radical Islamist world would latch on to these people (if they had the intelligence -- but I'm not saying who the word "they" refers to :-), "eco-terror" could well be considered as, and maybe even indistinguishable from, treason.

(Caveat Lector: This is only an instant analysis after a looong day at work. There may be good reasons to make the distinction that I don't see at the time of posting.)

[Liberty Teeth]

If these were "right wing" crimes you can guarrantee the language would be much harsher and highlighted by the press nightly.