Eco-terrorism

[Dinner]

The Earth Liberation Front (ELF) is a radical leftist enviromental group who opposes any new construction by humans and who engages in arson and vandalism. In the last two years ELF has set fire to construction sites and recreational facities (such as a Sky Chalet in Wyoming) doing more then $100 million dollars in damages and the FBI has named ELF an Eco-terrorist organization. Why do I care? Because it seems there is an active ELF cell right here in San Diego where I live.

Last night ELF set fire to six homes on two different construction sites in the San Diego area. This is on top of an August fire at a San Diego apartment complex under construction that caused $50 million in damage.
This morning's damage could have been much worse except and we're lucky that nearby residents saw the fires right after they were set and called the Fire Department.

So what is your take on this? Is ELF a terror organization or are they just valient protectors of the natural world? Is arson and vandalism justified or should we toss these fools in the slammer and throw away the key?

[Dinner]

Oh, yeah. The FBI also believes ELF is probably involed in the $1 million arson at a Los Angles area Hummer dealership last month. It made CNN, Fox, and the other major networks so you might remember hearing about it.

HERE is the article from the San Diego Union-Tribune article from this mornings arson attack.

[BeBMan]

I wouldn´t call it terror, it simply sounds stupid what they do

[Cruddy]

Elves - love 'em or loathe 'em, it's dumb to ignore them.

Can't see why they don't torch oil facilities but maybe they're working up to that.

What I really don't understand is why they don't do positive stuff to prevent damage to the environment, rather than torching property. It does nothing good for the ozone layer or global warming.

Arseholes looking for attention. Lock 'em up.

[MikeH]

Yes it's terrorism, and fire spreads and can kill people.

[Dinner]

HERE is the testimony of James F. Jarboe
Domestic Terrorism Section Chief Counterterrorism Division Federal Bureau of Investigation on the threat of Eco-Terrorism which he gave before the House Resources Committee Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health in Feb. of last year.

He defines different types of terrorism and then explains the origins and past histories of several of the largest eco-terrorist organizations. It's funny but both of the two largest eco-terrorist groups started out in England. I wonder why there are so many violent prone eviromental groups in England.

[Dinner]

Here's an interesting section from the aboved linked speech about ELF:

The ALF and the ELF have jointly claimed credit for several raids including a November 1997 attack of the Bureau of Land Management wild horse corrals near Burns, Oregon, where arson destroyed the entire complex resulting in damages in excess of four hundred and fifty thousand dollars and the June 1998 arson attack of a U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal Damage Control Building near Olympia, Washington, in which damages exceeded two million dollars. The ELF claimed sole credit for the October 1998, arson of a Vail, Colorado, ski facility in which four ski lifts, a restaurant, a picnic facility and a utility building were destroyed. Damage exceeded $12 million. On 12/27/1998, the ELF claimed responsibility for the arson at the U.S. Forest Industries Office in Medford, Oregon, where damages exceeded five hundred thousand dollars. Other arsons in Oregon, New York, Washington, Michigan, and Indiana have been claimed by the ELF. Recently, the ELF has also claimed attacks on genetically engineered crops and trees. The ELF claims these attacks have totaled close to $40 million in damages.

It's also interesting to note that the FBI believes theat the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) has effectively merged with the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) so that Alf/ELF now forms one big happy eco-terrorism organization.

[Cruddy]

Originally posted by Oerdin
I wonder why there are so many violent prone eviromental groups in England.

Because civil disobedience to development work ("tree huggers") are very common here, and come from a wide social background.

Threaten to issue everyone with ID cards or take DNA samples from everyone, not too many people are upset.

Take out a chainsaw on a 300 year old oak tree and you'll be publicly ridiculed, demonstrated against, the whole civil disobedience deal.

HOWEVER, distruction of property is not such a popular means of protest. It happens, but usually such protests take the form of "human shields" and locking yourself onto the ground being demolished/bulldozed.

Violent protest is NOT a majority occupation here - and people who burn things are seen as vandals just the same as big business developers.

[Dinner]

Ok, I can understand why these guys would want to burn ski lodges because they don't like people going into the woods and bothering all of the little furry creatures, I can also understand during down car dealerships which sell SUVs, I can even follow their twisted logic why they'd want burn down condos and houses since they're against urban sprawl (though the $50 million dollar condos they burned down two months ago in San Diego was a redevelopment project which didn't develop any new land). The one thing which I don't understand is why they'd burn down a US Navy recruiting center.

How does that help furry little animals? Never the less earlier this year ELF claimed responsibility for burning down a Navy recruiting center in Montgomery, Alabama and for spray painting anti war slogans upon cars and nearby businesses. I can only think that these nutjobs are just idiot fringe leftists who like to burn things.

[MikeH]

Something like the US navy has a LOT of nuclear reactors which creates a lot of nuclear waste, which is bad for little furry creatures?

Isn't the US Navy also the second largest airforce in the world (after the USAF) so maybe something to do with all that jet fuel emission in the upper atmosphere...

[Dinner]

Ok, I can follow that logic.

[General Ludd]

There's nothign more enviromentally damaging then the military and war.

[MikeH]

What about an enormous volcanic eruption or a strike from a giant meteor?

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by MikeH
What about an enormous volcanic eruption or a strike from a giant meteor?

What about it?

[MikeH]

Both more environmentally damaging than war.