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from the when-does-activism-become-terrorism dept.
I was saddened to hear that two individuals who released fur animals and vandalized fur farms across America were busted: http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/fbi-arrests-activists-accused-of-releasing-mink/article_6c169b5d-dbbc-5dd1-adb0-534ee46af88b.html
But the arrest is sort of beside the point and there are two interesting tidbits in there. First and less interesting, is the ridiculous charge of terrorism under the "Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act" -- seriously, what they did is just plain old crime. Before you know it, going 10 over on the freeway will be considered an act of terrorism.
More intriguing, despite a lack of details on how they got busted, is this tidbit:
The indictment states that they covered their tracks by avoiding phones or logging into known online accounts and email. Instead, they used public Internet computers and encrypted email and cash for purchases while traveling. They would allegedly withdraw hundreds of dollars while back home in the San Francisco Bay Area before another trip.
The FBI states that they drafted communiques and posted them online to publicize their actions on websites associated with "animal rights extremists."
I'm going to guess automatic license plate readers were involved. Pure guess.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Oakenshield on Monday July 27 2015, @03:13PM
You need to check your definition. There is no random component in the definition. In fact, I'd say that randomness is at odds with the general goals.
terrorism
[ter-uh-riz-uh m]
IPA Syllables
Examples Word Origin
noun
1. the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 27 2015, @03:33PM
I see. So - each and every victim was selected intentionally on 9/11/01.
The definition is somewhat lacking, in that terroristic acts almost always result in random passersby being killed.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Oakenshield on Monday July 27 2015, @03:44PM
The primary targets in 9/11 were the World Trade Center and Pentagon and the symbols of American Status, Authority and Might, not particularly the inhabitants. This was the case as it was in the 1993 WTC bombing with a (presumably) entirely different set of inhabitants. I will leave finding the definition of "Collateral Damage" as an exercise to the reader.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2015, @03:48PM
I believe that's called collateral damage.
(Score: 2, Informative) by khallow on Tuesday July 28 2015, @02:16AM
So - each and every victim was selected intentionally on 9/11/01.
Yes, they were by being on those planes that were intentionally hijacked. And the World Trade Center towers most certainly were not randomly selected.
The definition is somewhat lacking, in that terroristic acts almost always result in random passersby being killed.
A common consequence is not a definition.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 28 2015, @12:09AM
So many things are political, and so many criminal acts are violence. Even the standard definition of terrorism is subjective and ridiculously overbroad.
It's just a term fearmongers like to use.
(Score: 2) by urza9814 on Tuesday July 28 2015, @05:35PM
That is a dictionary definition, but that is not the legal definition.
If that was the legal definition, you could file a suit against any current or retired soldier or commander of the US Military (yes, certainly including the President) and charge them with terrorism. And win quite easily. Because that's basically all the military does.