Terrorism?

[aoxamaxoa]

Scary, Indeed: "A new law that comes into force this week gives federal authorities expanded powers to prosecute animal rights militants -- as the State Department is warning that their activities eclipse terrorism as a day-to-day security problem for U.S. companies in Western Europe." This is corporations enacting laws to benefit them and turning protestors into terrorists to better ensure global corporate profits. BTW, I don't recall a rush to deem anti-abortion clinic bombers terrorists?

http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20061127-072136-3466r

Can you identify other groups called "extremists"? I can, the Republican Party Heads....you know, they live in a White House.

[sgrizzle]

Peta cares nothing about vegetable rights.

At least meat-eaters kill the food before sticking it in their mouth.

[RecycleMichael]

I don't eat live food.

Keep the yogurt and sprouts away from me.

[Rico]

Would you call "some French soccer fans terrorist.........!??"

I would.

France's ugly soccer incident a reminder why U.S. is better off
Conor Friedersdorf, Staff Writer
Article Launched:11/30/2006 12:00:00 AM PST

Here's what happened at a soccer game in Paris last week:

Two Jewish men, fans of a visiting team from Israel, exited the stadium. About a hundred fans of a French club team cornered them.


"Death to the Jew!" men in the crowd shouted.

Others made Nazi salutes.

Yes, this happened last week in France, a Western nation that suffered during Hitler's invasion and occupation, a country where cemeteries are dotted with Stars of David that mark the graves of Jews who helped win its liberation.

It gets worse: The mob descended on one of the Jews, began beating him, and vowed to kill him until a black police officer, Antoine Granomort, lobbed a tear gas canister into the melee. (I mention his race because French fans at this same stadium are known to harass black players by shouting monkey chants and racist slogans.)

Despite the noxious fumes, the murderous assault continued, ceasing only when the officer raised his service revolver, shot one assailant dead, and wounded another.

The Jewish fan escaped with his life.

As the United
States confronts its own ugly outbursts of public racism, whether the anti-Semitic raving of a drunken Mel Gibson, or the disgusting epithets uttered by Michael "Kramer" Richards, we rightly take heed.

"They trigger an almost vestigial fear that something awful will follow, or that the remark, often uttered in anger or while drunk, is a clue to what society in general really feels," writes Richard Cohen in a recent column on the topic.

"But what follows is not an outpouring of support. Instead, there is a roar of universal condemnation - either an expression of national abhorrence or, if you insist, a chorus of hypocrisy. Either way, the effect is the same. We will simply not put up with raw bigotry."

That's a wonderful thing.

It isn't that our culture is devoid of racism, or that occasional bigots of all colors don't commit acts of violence against other groups due to their race.

Even so, an incident like the one in Paris reminds us that the occasional insults and isolated acts of violence that Americans now associate with racism are, however harmful, among its milder forms.

It is impossible to imagine a mob of American sports fans at a mainstream sporting event cornering a black fan, or a Jewish fan, or an Arab fan, and shouting racial epithets, let alone threatening his death.

To be fair, a Jew at a soccer game combines Europe's two most bizarre yet reliable triggers to violence, so perhaps a story that combines both is unrepresentative of the continent's general racial pathologies. But I can think of no racial pathology, even an unrepresentative one, as sick or troubling in present-day America.

I reflect on all this not to congratulate us, or to suggest that we shouldn't worry about racial progress, but to point out that we've made important strides here, and that more people of more different races and religions get along better in the United States than anywhere else on the planet.  

There are reasons why this is so. What are they?

As large-scale immigration continues apace, policymakers tinker with diversity initiatives and affirmative action, and demographic shifts occur, it is certain that many aspects of race relations will change in coming years.

The changes should excite us insofar as they represent an opportunity to right the wrongs that still exist in our country.

As we do so, however, we ought to be circumspect enough to appreciate how far our pluralistic success has advanced even beyond our fellow Westerners, and to ensure that whatever is responsible for that success, we keep it intact.

[aoxamaxoa]

Good article. Not so sure it has much to do with this thread.....

I'd be a little more worried as a social activist than a soccer fan.

[Trams]

I'm sure animal rights "militants" are a legitimate concern.  And, it is sophomoric to believe that such laws were designed solely to "turn[] protestors into terroritsts."  Some such organizations purposely direct their activities at destroying various corporations through acts of physical violence and intimidation.  For instance:  "Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty USA Inc."  

According to one article:  

quote: The stated goal of SHAC USA was to drive Huntingdon out of business through its direct action against the company and specific individuals. The animal rights group directed its campaign via its Web sites, where it posted and applauded acts of harassment, intimidation, vandalism, and violence against Huntingdon, its employees, and others. http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/nov06/061101c.asp

Do you see the irony here?  Extremists are willing to engage in physical violence against people because of their earnest desire to protect animals?  AHhhhh....

[South_Tulsan]

Animals are innocent creatures... adults who run torture facilities are not.

This is not just a "PETA" issue, I was first made aware of it through the monthly newsletter from the ASPCA.

Although these protestors may cross the line, they certainly are not 'terrorists,' and this law certainly is an example of the Republican party protecting the interests of corporate America above those of the average citizen... in this case the overzealous animal rights protestor.

[Trams]

Animals may be "innocent" (in some sense) ... but animal rights extremists are not.  They should be punished just like any other person who engages in physical violence for unjustifiable reasons.  More importantly, a philosophy that elevates the "rights" of animals to a sacred level is fundamentally misguided.  

Finally, I like beef, chicken, and other meats.  They are tasty.  Would you deny me such savory and flavorful meats?

[aoxamaxoa]

New posties miss the point of this thread....

[Trams]

quote:Originally posted by aoxamaxoa

New posties miss the point of this thread....

No, I understand the point of this thread.  Thanks though.

[Conan71]

I am a member of PETA- People Eating Tasty Animals.

If God hadn't intended for man to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them out of meat.[]

[rwarn17588]

I grew up on a farm, where we butchered our own pork, chicken and rabbit. Still, it startles me how much disconnect has developed with where our food comes from. People never even give a thought where their meat originated.

That's why I like Saveur magazine. When they talk about meat, at least the writers acknowledge it comes from a previously living animal.

[Conan71]

Oh, I'll admit if I had to slaughter my own, I might not eat as much meat.  I've been in enough meat packing houses and feed lots for beef, pork, and fowl that I have no choice but to block that scene out of my mind.  I didn't eat chicken for a month after my first experience in a chicken plant.  There again, if I gave it too much thought, I'd never eat out again after working in various restaurants in my lifetime.

I don't have a problem that there are people who want to prevent animal cruelty, yet many seem to have little regard for human life.

[Artiem]

I eat meat, not as much as I used to, but out of health concerns, not moral concerns. Are animals who prey on other animals morally bankrupt? Are they sinners who will burn in hell? Laughable. I'm not saying there's no cruelty at all in the processing of animals for food, I'm sure some bad things happen. But I'm also sure that ranchers/poultry farmers, etc. worry about the health and well-being of their livestock -- or they would soon be out of business.

[tim huntzinger]

My daughter has been a lacto-ovo veggie since she was in 6th grade (DAM* THAT MOVIE'BABE'!)  I made sure that if there was a choice between starving to death or our dog, the dog would lose.  Every now and then she craves Arby's and will unashamedly grab a bag of them and bring em home.

What scares me most about the slaughter industry is their use of hormones, and the spectre of latent mad-cow disease.