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posted by Fnord666 on Thursday October 12 2017, @07:23AM   Printer-friendly
from the oink-I-say dept.

Newsweek has this article on America's skewed definition of terrorism:

What is terrorism? According to the FBI, animal activists who stole two piglets from a farm were terrorists. As of now, Stephen Paddock, who killed 58 people at a country music concert in Las Vegas two weeks ago, has not been labeled a terrorist by the federal security organization.

In a viral story posted on The Intercept, journalist Glenn Greenwald details an account of federal agents investigating animal activists and scouring farm-animal sanctuaries to find two missing piglets that allegedly had been stolen from a farm. The FBI devoted such resources to finding these two piglets because their alleged theft and the capturing of undercover videos of the farm's conditions count as terrorism.

Why is the piglet theft classified as terrorism, but not the Las Vegas shooting? The distinction is rooted in the definition of the term. In spite of the emotions the word "terrorist" might elicit, the definition is not "mass killer" or "Muslim extremist" or "very bad person." The legal definition of terrorism is "the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property in order to coerce or intimidate a government or the civilian population in furtherance of political or social objectives."


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 12 2017, @12:28PM (7 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 12 2017, @12:28PM (#581101)

    Yeah, right. So you just pay them to chase pigs for the benefit of your agricultural overlords' public image, 'cause they have proven and effective skills in PR.

    And you consider this is a normal situation, not worth of being even remotely annoyed about.
    It's the mundane reality for as long as you remember, therefore is absolutely sane!!

  • (Score: 1, Troll) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday October 12 2017, @12:39PM (6 children)

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Thursday October 12 2017, @12:39PM (#581103) Homepage Journal

    English isn't your native language I take it.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 12 2017, @12:52PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 12 2017, @12:52PM (#581110)

      The point of FBI chasing non-violent "terrorists" on money from your pocket just to defend the bottom line of agribusiness barons is surely soooo much less important than my command over English language, isn't it? That point so insignificant it doesn't worth addressing.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 12 2017, @04:31PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 12 2017, @04:31PM (#581204)

        Ignore the mighty buzzbrain. Hes the resident troll on staff.

    • (Score: 1) by oldmac31310 on Thursday October 12 2017, @02:55PM (1 child)

      by oldmac31310 (4521) on Thursday October 12 2017, @02:55PM (#581154)

      You are an asshole.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 12 2017, @07:32PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 12 2017, @07:32PM (#581305)

        'What does a sphincter say?" Wayne

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 12 2017, @07:41PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 12 2017, @07:41PM (#581309)

      ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್ ನನ್ನ ಸ್ಥಳೀಯ ಭಾಷೆ ಅಲ್ಲ

    • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday October 12 2017, @09:49PM

      by Phoenix666 (552) on Thursday October 12 2017, @09:49PM (#581371) Journal

      I gotta be honest, his command of English far exceeds your command of his native language. Exceeds your command of your native language too, actually.

      --
      Washington DC delenda est.