How Long Can "Hate Group" Criminals Hide Behind Claims Of "Free Speech"?

Is Terror Tactics Still Terror Tactics And A Crime,

No Matter What People Hating Group Actually Do Them?

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TX H.B. 1516 Targeting Animal Protection Advocates
Bill Number: H.B. 1516
HSUS Position: Oppose

Makes the penalty for certain crimes more severe if they are committed by someone who was motivated by an objection to certain activities involving animals, natural resources, or the operation of an animal facility.

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http://www.viscom.ohiou.edu/moore.site/Pages/Klan6.html

Would It Seem An Instrument Of Terror,

Is An Instrument Of Terror,

No Matter Who Is Behind It According To The Supreme Court?

Supreme Court: Cross Burning Not Free Speech
Michael Kitchen
Washington

The Supreme Court has ruled that burning a cross, a symbolic act associated with U.S. white supremacist groups, is not covered by the right to free speech. By a 6-3 majority, the Supreme Court upheld a Virginia state ban on cross burning, a half-century-old law meant to stop a practice widely seen as an act of racial hate.

The burning of wooden crosses is closely associated with the Klu Klux Klan, a white supremacist group founded at the end of the Civil War. Cases of Klan members burning crosses on the property of African-Americans or other minorities have a long history, and served as the target of the Virginia ban.

The Court had previously decided similar cases in favor of protecting First Amendment rights to free speech. In an earlier decision, it struck down a broader law in Saint Paul, Minnesota, prohibiting the placing of any symbol of racial or religious bias on another's property.

But in the case of the Virginia cross-burning ban, the justices say the state does have the right to brand such acts as criminal.

Kent Scheidegger of the California-based Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, whose group filed a friend-of-the-court brief in favor of the ban, says the real decision involved whether cross-burning can be seen as a threat. "It's significant in that it clarified an area of First Amendment law that hasn't gotten a lot of attention," he says. "And that is the fact that threats are an area of speech that are outside the protection of the First Amendment."

Justice Sandra Day O'Conner delivered the majority opinion, writing that the burning cross is indeed an instrument of terror and that First Amendment rights are not absolute in such cases.

Source: http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=41126207-6AB8-44BF-83BA2249871484C7&title=Supreme%20Court%3A%20Cross%20Burning%20Not%20Free%20Speech&catOID=45C9C78F-88AD-11D4-A57200A0CC5EE46C&categoryname=USA

Should We Add Legislators To This List..........

............"There are doctors, lawyers and even cops working with terrorist groups,"...............

Terrorism addressed at conference
By MARY GALES ASKREN, Capital Journal Staff

The eyes and ears of everyone are necessary to fight terrorism, according to one agent with the state Division of Criminal Investigation. Jim Severson, who is currently

assigned to the FBI joint terrorism task force, spoke this week to approximately 90 members of the South Dakota Corrections Association at their annual spring conference in Pierre.

"Keep your eyes open, pay attention and pass information along. It's that simple," he said.

Severson began his presentation by telling a personal story. In 2001, shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he was driving across Interstate 90 from Sioux Falls to Rapid City when he observed a suspicious vehicle on the highway. Two men, wearing fatigues, were driving an old rental truck with the company's name obscured by paint. Because of the terrorist attacks, this made him suspicious.

He said that he contacted local law enforcement officers and the vehicle was stopped. In that instance, the men were members of the National Guard who were delivering computers.

"Little did I know that was going to be my start," Severson said.

Since then, the task force has been "very busy" investigating suspicious situations. Currently, members are looking into the disappearance of the blasting caps from the Del Rapids quarry, especially in light of the fact that 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel have disappeared around South Dakota, including 2,000 gallons in Stanley County, according to Severson. With blasting caps and diesel fuel, a terrorist would need only fertilizer to make a bomb, he said.

"We may live in South Dakota, but that doesn't mean terrorism is over there," Severson said, making an expansive pointing gesture to indicate some area outside the region. "It's right here in South Dakota."

During his presentation, Severson gave an overview of terrorist activity and provided those at the conference with an introduction to Islam, emphasizing that it is a religion of peace akin to Christianity and Judaism.

The FBI defines terrorism as "the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives," Severson said.

The term itself is relatively new, but terrorism has been around for centuries. He said that what constitutes terrorism is largely a matter of perspective and the victor writes the story. The Boston Tea Party, by strict definition, was an act of terrorism, according to Severson.

"One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter," he said.

While international terrorism is in the forefront of everyone's mind, Severson said domestic terrorism also poses a threat. Anti-abortion activists, animal rights activists and environmental activists, among others, are equally dangerous.

"There are doctors, lawyers and even cops working with terrorist groups," Severson said.

He presented information which indicated that animal rights activists, especially the Animal Liberation Front, have executed over 1,000 acts of terrorism in the past 20 years, with 80 of those acts causing more than $100,000 in damage. Those opposed to genetic engineering have made 50 attacks since January 1999, including one in 2001 which cause more than $5 million in damage, Severson said.

International terrorism often involves "twisted" religious ideologies, he said.

"Terrorist leaders of today are using religion to change the world. They are not religious people," Severson said.

He emphasized that Islam is a religion of peace and said the concept of the jihad, as used by terrorists today, is different than intended by the prophet Muhammad. The greater jihad, in the Muslim faith, is the surrender of one's ego in an attempt to become one with God, according to the PowerPoint presentation Severson used.

Today, this concept is being interpreted differently, he said.

"Religious terrorists look at death as a sacramental act," Severson said.

He said that today's technology has changed the face of terrorism. With cell phones, the Internet and the media providing instant coverage, terrorists don't have to gather in one place to plan an attack. He said they are also well-trained, citing the example of al-Qaida training manuals and videos.

To apprehend terrorists and to prevent terrorist activities, Severson said that law enforcement agencies need the general public to be part of the team.

"If it's out of the ordinary, if it's suspicious, feed it up the chain," he said.

©Pierre Capital Journal, South Dakota newspapers 2003

Source: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=7610505&BRD=1130&PAG=461&dept_id=99675&rfi=6

......... "By placing chickens and Jews on the same ethical plane," as Newkirk does, "animal rights activists may inadvertently make it easier for a future Hitler to herd millions of humans into gas chambers.".........

Taming Beasts
Raising the moral status of dogs has created a breed of snarling, dangerous humans.
By Charles Colson with Anne Morse

In case you haven't noticed, animal-rights activists have become increasingly active. Consider the following: Last year the California Milk Advisory Board ran its "happy cows" ads featuring singing, wisecracking dairy cows contentedly munching grass in bucolic bliss. Viewers loved them, but in December, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sued, claiming the ads violate consumer protection laws by deceiving consumers about the way cows actually live. (Note to PETA: cows don't really sing, either.)

In Illinois last June, PETA was outraged when a casino invited customers to play ticktacktoe against chickens. PETA objected to "the Chicken Challenge" because the game "disrespected chickens."

In Phoenix, a teacher threatened to sic her classroom of six-year-olds on a seafood restaurant to force the owner to stop its "cruel" practice of putting live beta fish on display in fish bowls. The fish were ultimately put up for adoption.

It's hard not to laugh at stories like these, and that's usually what we do. Until recently, the animal-rights movement has been viewed as little more than a radical fringe group. But in truth its proponents have a serious agenda—one that challenges Christianity's most fundamental doctrines. And one, as I discovered in the last election, that is having a surprising impact on the public.

On Florida's ballot was a constitutional amendment to outlaw housing pregnant sows in stalls so small the pigs can't turn around. I was certain my fellow voters would not put such a thing in the state constitution. To my amazement, they did—54 to 46 percent.

As Michael Pollan writes in a brilliant New York Times Magazine article, the animal-rights movement is scoring remarkable triumphs in its effort to have animals declared morally equivalent to humans. Last year, for instance, Germans passed a law "obliging the state to respect and protect the dignity" of animals just as it does humans. In England, the farming of animals for fur was recently outlawed.

Here at home, a recent poll found that just over half of all Americans think primates should have the same rights as human children. Though it's hard to imagine anyone taking Princeton philosopher Peter Singer seriously given that he advocates bestiality, his book Animal Liberation has converted thousands to vegetarianism.

To be sure, some changes in how animals are treated on farms, in labs, and in zoos may be needed. But at the same time, we must understand that much more than humane concerns is driving the modern animal-rights movement.

Scottish philosopher Alex MacDonald explains that as Darwinian theories of evolution gained favor, animal-rights advocates could logically argue there is no essential difference between humans and animals. Professor Singer, for instance, writes, "On the basis of evolution . . . there is no clear dividing line between humans and animals."

PETA's Ingrid Newkirk even compares eating meat to the Nazis' Holocaust and openly says the animal-rights movement is "at great odds" with "supremacist" Christian teachings.

Ominously, some animal-rights activists carry their logic to extremes: If it's "murder" to kill a chicken, for instance, it's morally acceptable to try to stop the "murderer." Wesley Smith writes on National Review Online about animal-rights terrorists who employ "death threats, fire bombings, and violent assaults against those they accuse of abusing animals."

One such group, the Animal Liberation Front, "posted a how-to-commit-arson manual on its website," Smith says. In the Netherlands, an activist is charged in the assassination of a candidate for parliament—one who had publicly defended pig farming.

Clearly, animal-rights proponents are serious—and dangerous. Charles Oliver of Reason magazine puts it well: "By placing chickens and Jews on the same ethical plane," as Newkirk does, "animal rights activists may inadvertently make it easier for a future Hitler to herd millions of humans into gas chambers."

Oliver is right. The philosophy behind the animal-rights agenda is an assault on human dignity. As Christians, we have a moral duty to respect the animal world as God's handiwork, treating animals with "the mercy of our Maker," as Christian writer Matthew Scully writes in his excellent new book, Dominion.

But mercy and respect for animals are completely different from rights for animals—and we should never confuse the two.

Source: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/004/37.120.html

Courtesy: Marc R.

END Terror Stikes Again?

----- Original Message -----

From: "carla everett" <ceverett@tahc.state.tx.us>

Sent: Monday, April 07, 2003 11:17 AM

Subject: Poultry and Bird Disease Suspected in Texas

NEWS RELEASE
Texas Animal Health Commission
Box l2966 * Austin, Texas 78711 * (800) 550-8242 * FAX (512) 719-0719
Bob Hillman, DVM * Executive Director
For info, contact Carla Everett, information officer,
at 1-800-550-8242, ext. 710, or ceverett@tahc.state.tx.us

For immediate release April 7, 2003

Poultry and Bird Disease
Suspected in Texas;
Owners Warned to Protect Birds and Poultry

A flock of non-commercial chickens south of El Paso is suspected of having Exotic Newcastle Disease (END), a foreign-origin virus that is deadly to poultry and birds. A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) veterinarian examined the birds Saturday, April 5, after receiving a report of high death loss in the flock. While awaiting laboratory confirmation of the presumptive diagnosis, which should be completed by Friday, April 11, a team of state and federal animal health officials has gathered on site to contain the flock and to assess the area to determine if infection may have spread to nearby flocks, or if birds or poultry might have been exposed to the sick birds recently transported from the area.

If the disease is confirmed by the National Veterinary Service Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, Texas would be the fourth state to be stricken by this foreign poultry disease since October 2002, when an END outbreak was detected in California. Since then, the virus also has been found--and eradicated--in backyard flocks in Arizona and Nevada.

"An END outbreak creates an extremely serious situation for bird owners in Texas. With the possibility that this disease is in our state, we again remind bird owners that they must follow strict biosecurity procedures and movement restrictions in order to guard against the accidential introduction of disease to their flocks, to other backyard or hobby flocks, or to the Texas and New Mexico commercial poultry industry," warned Dr. Bob Hillman, Texas state veterinarian and executive director for the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the state's livestock and poultry health regulatory agency.

"Bird and poultry owners must not move birds from the El Paso area," he said. "When buying birds or poultry, ensure also that they did not originate from quarantined areas in southern California. Because END can spread from direct contact, keep newly purchased birds isolated for at least 30 days. Maintain records on new birds, so if there is a health problem, we can trace it to the source more quickly."

Dr. Hillman explained that, while END usually has an incubation period of two to 15 days, pet birds, especially parrots, can be infectious for more than a year, without exhibiting any signs of illness. Commonly, END can cause birds to sneeze or gasp and develop a greenish, watery diarrhea. Birds may also develop muscle tremors, a twisting of the head and neck, complete paralysis, or a swelling around the eyes and neck. In many cases, sudden death loss is the only sign that a problem exists within the flock.

"END does not affect humans, and chicken and eggs are safe to eat. For the poultry and bird industry, however, END has deadly--and expensive consequences. Today, more than 1,400 animal health veterinarians and inspectors from across the country are working on the END outbreak in southern California, which so far, has spread to 22 commercial poultry flocks. Another 2,400 backyard flocks have either been infected or exposed to the fast-moving virus, and about 15,500 flocks remain quarantined.

As of early April, more than 3.5 million birds in southern California have been destroyed to stop the spread of the disease. In late winter, END also was detected in several backyard flocks in Nevada and Arizona, but fortunately these small outbreaks were eradicated quickly."

"Do not take chances with your birds," Dr. Hillman reiterated. "By following some biosecurity practices, you can reduce the chance of infection in your flock. However, if you see signs of illness or sudden death loss in your flock, call your private veterinary practitioner or the TAHC immediately."

Dr. Hillman reminded bird and poultry owners that the TAHC hotline is in operation 24 hours a day at 1-800-550-8242. TAHC veterinarians, trained as foreign animal disease diagnosticians, work with private veterinary practitioners and poultry disease experts free of charge to assess the flock and collect samples for laboratory testing.

"Please, keep an eye on your birds and poultry. Diseases spread quickly, so immediate reporting is vital to saving the industry money, time and heartbreak. The sooner we know of a disease problem, the sooner we can deal with it and stop the outbreak," said Dr. Hillman.

Dr. Hillman urged bird and poultry owners to abide by the following good biosecurity practices:

* Don't keep pet birds on commercial poultry operations. Don't allow employees to maintain their own birds or poultry. Your staff could carry bacteria or viruses from their birds to yours. Supply clean clothes and footwear, or disposable coveralls and shoe covers, for your employees to wear when working with your birds.

* Disinfect tires and the under carriages of all vehicles as they enter or leave the farm or premises (no 'germs in,' no 'germs out'). In humid, warm weather, viruses can live on surfaces for weeks, so don't hope that they will 'wear off' trucks or tires.

* Going to the feed store or coffee shop? Don't work with your birds until you've changed into clean clothes and disinfected footwear. Viruses can be tracked into or from stores on boots and clothing.

* Avoid visiting other poultry operations. Dangerous bacteria and viruses can be transported from one farm to another. If you must loan tools or equipment, ensure the items are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected prior to use.

* Maintain good records on purchases and sales. If a disease problem arises, these documents can help animal health officials track and eradicate disease.