In The News
Improving ESA: The Klamath Case Study
Tuesday February 28, 2006
In Case You Missed It…Investor’s Business Daily Science And Fiction
Wednesday February 22, 2006
Science And Fiction
Keystone: ESA Can Be Improved
Tuesday February 21, 2006
In Case You Missed It…Green Goons & ‘Rights’ Loons
Saturday January 28, 2006
Editorial highlight: “It’s good that the feds moved against ELF now - before someone dies.”
The New York Post Green Goons & ‘Rights’ Loons
January 28, 2006
So, will the American Civil Liberties Union apologize to the FBI?
Just last month, the ACLU screamed bloody murder that the FBI was “using counterterrorism resources to monitor and infiltrate domestic political organizations, despite a lack of evidence that the groups are engaging in or supporting violent action.”
What will they say now - following a 65-count federal indictment of 11 members of the radical “environmental” groups, Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front? …
Their fellow travelers doubtless will say that, indictments aside, the FBI’s surveillance of groups such as PETA or Greenpeace were unwarranted because they haven’t engaged in violent behavior.
Any political movement can have extremists - but both PETA and Greenpeace have themselves engaged in behavior that crosses the line.
Greenpeace’s attempts over the years to physically block whaling and nuclear testing has gotten it placed on various European nations’ terrorist lists.
PETA has contributed money to ELF/ALF and refuses to condemn their eco-terrorist tactics.
Just three years ago - after a donkey loaded with explosives was used on an unsuccessful attack - PETA head Ingrid Newkirk wrote to Yasser Arafat, urging the Palestinian Authority not to use animals to kill Israelis. Note that she didn’t condemn the attacks against Israeli civilians, explaining, “It is not my business to inject myself into human wars.”
As FBI Director Robert Mueller said recently: “Terrorism is terrorism.”
None can be tolerated.
It’s good that the feds moved against ELF now - before someone dies.
It’s also a good thing that the FBI is keeping an eye on some of the other environmental domestic groups.
And, no, we’re not expecting the ACLU to be offering an apology anytime soon.
Click here for the full text of the editorial (online registration required).
Click here for the full text of the editorial.
Green Goons & ‘Rights’ Loons
In Case You Missed It…Editorial: Terrorists, by Any Name (The Wall Street Journal, 01/25/06)
Wednesday January 25, 2006
Editorial highlight: “Law enforcement agencies have made some important arrests in recent years, yet they still face difficulties tracking down these thugs -- who operate in underground cells linked to organizations such as the Earth Liberation Front or Animal Liberation Front. Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe last year introduced legislation to give authorities more tools to prosecute ecoterrorists; current statutes don’t cover many ecoterrorist activities, such as threats or coercion against third-party targets. The sooner Congress takes this up the better, and more news coverage of their widespread threats and violence wouldn’t hurt either.”
The Wall Street Journal
Terrorists, by Any Name
January 25, 2006
Web link: Terrorists, by Any Name
Osama bin Laden’s latest tape was such big news last week that its coverage swamped some other major terror news: that the Bush Administration has rounded up some of America’s most dangerous domestic terrorists.
The Justice Department on Friday released a 65-count indictment against 11 members of an animal-rights and ecoterrorism outfit that for more than four years had spread violence and destruction across five Western states. Using fire and explosives, the individuals stand accused of targeting ranger stations, animal-holding facilities, lumber companies, timber farms, a ski resort and even a police department. Eight have been detained; another three are believed to be hiding outside the country.
Credit here goes to the FBI, which in recent years has listed green extremists as a top domestic terror threat -- responsible for more than 1,200 criminal acts and millions of dollars in damage. In recent years these outfits have been expanding their scope, targeting bodies that are only marginally linked to practices they resent. The New York Stock Exchange’s recent decision to postpone the listing of Huntingdon Life Sciences -- a U.K. animal-research company that has been a top terrorist target for years -- was put down to the Exchange’s worry that it would be next on the hit list.
Law enforcement agencies have made some important arrests in recent years, yet they still face difficulties tracking down these thugs -- who operate in underground cells linked to organizations such as the Earth Liberation Front or Animal Liberation Front. Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe last year introduced legislation to give authorities more tools to prosecute ecoterrorists; current statutes don’t cover many ecoterrorist activities, such as threats or coercion against third-party targets. The sooner Congress takes this up the better, and more news coverage of their widespread threats and violence wouldn’t hurt either.
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In Case You Missed It…
When greenies go nuts: tales of the eco-11 terrorists
Tuesday January 24, 2006
In Case You Missed It…
Column Highlight: “Ecoterrorism cannot be wrapped in justification any more than terrorism anywhere, for whatever crackpot dreams.”The Seattle Times
When greenies go nuts: tales of the eco-11 terrorists
January 22, 2006
James Vesely, Seattle Times columnist
CHARGES against individuals who reportedly formed a ring of ecoterrorists is good news for the Northwest and a validation for the FBI, whose agents persisted over long years to assemble evidence of arson and property destruction.
At a news conference Friday, the feds disclosed 65 counts against 11 people for criminal behavior in acts linked to ALF and ELF the Animal Liberation Front and the Earth Liberation Front. Eight of the eco-11 are in custody.
In the bucolic Pacific Northwest, where nature is an icon and tree-hugging is serious, the liberation-fronters perform the role of the Bad Seed. They take environmentalism to the point of dangerous absurdity. …
They don’t target or harm people, is the defense used by the ecoterrorists, but of course they do. They harm families and research, paychecks and public wealth. They stain environmentalism with their unbalanced fervor. The individuals appear as normal as the trees, but with secret lives of destruction a firefighter, a Southwest bookstore owner and a health-care worker for the disabled are among those found and charged. One committed suicide in jail, others appeared at the courthouse in Eugene, Ore., smiling the smiles of the righteous.
There is a question about ecoterrorism that environmentalists from Eugene to Juneau should ask themselves. Is it not enough to decry the eco-11’s violence but silently agree with their goals?
Torching a horse slaughterhouse is still arson, and wrecking some SUVs or high tension wires is still about a violent means to an end. The person thought responsible for the Vail fire is also the prime suspect for the 2001 fire at the University of Washington Center for Urban Horticulture.
Much is said and written about the fragility of the wild, about the ocean currents and the melting ice. Those caught in California were thought to be targeting fish hatcheries next, and maybe a cell tower. There’s a good way to get people of the Northwest on your side – kill fish and cut off cellphones.
Ecoterrorism cannot be wrapped in justification any more than terrorism anywhere, for whatever crackpot dreams.
Click here for the full text of the James Vesely’s column. When greenies go nuts: tales of the eco-11 terrorists
In Case You Missed It… Seattle Post-Intelligencer Editorial: Terrorism: Criminal nature January 19, 2006
Friday January 20, 2006
In Case You Missed It…
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Editorial: Terrorism: Criminal nature
January 19, 2006
When one justifies any kind of terrorism, approving or rejecting more is just a matter of quibbling about details. There’s no philosophical difference between approving the torching of a large new home on Camano Island or the targeting of the tallest towers in Manhattan.
It’s heartening to see the FBI closing in on Americans who commit acts of violence in the name of environmental protection. Recent arrests indicate the FBI has begun to develop a much better understanding of the secretive ranks of so-called ecoterrorist groups. Crime sprees committed in the name of activist groups have taken an increasing toll on property and the public sense of community, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. And arson runs the continual risk of claiming human lives. …
Like other criminals, ecoterrorists have decided their desires take precedence over others’ rights. Law enforcement agencies and the public need to confront such arrogant, vicious thinking, whether it originates abroad or at home.
Click here for the full text of the editorial.
Terrorism: Criminal nature
In Case You Missed It…Kyoto’s Big Con, The Wall Street Journal
Thursday January 19, 2006
Kyoto's Big Con