We recently looked at why the government and the press (outside of some bloggers and opinion columnists) have not labeled the murder of an abortion provider as “terrorism.” It’s important to remember, though, that this isn’t an isolated incident. The word terrorism is used by the FBI and Department of Justice only when it fits a certain political agenda.

The government has systematically labeled animal rights and environmental activists who have never harmed anyone as “the number one domestic terrorism threat.” Yet the term is not applied to individuals who have committed much more serious (and often violent) crimes either for personal gain or for right-wing motives.

Here are 30 cases that the government has chosen to not label as “terrorism”:

1. Plotting to assassinate the president.
2. Beating African-American voters because they voted for Obama.
3. Threatening to assassinate the President and detonate C4 at the Mall of America.
4. Making death threats against biologists to “kill the enemies of Christian society.”
5. Attacking a black man with a chainsaw because of his race.
6. Using a noose to assault a black man at the Pentagon.
7. Tying up a black student and taunting him with racial epithets as part of a high school graduation party.
8. Smuggling “shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, and other military weapons.”
9. Leaving an incendiary device at a federal courthouse.
10. Placing a pipe bomb near a hotel and then calling in a bomb threat.
11. Making bomb threats on an airplane.
12. Impersonating an armed federal agent.
13. Shooting at FBI agents in a drive-by.
14. Threatening federal agents with an assault rifle.
15. Offering to sell your own child for sexual purposes.
16. Attempting to buy a 9-year-old girl for sex.
17. Selling a 5-year-old for sexual purposes.
18. Forcing a young woman to engage in prostitution through force, fraud and coercion.
19. Kidnapping 3 children.
20. Sending white powder to John McCain’s presidential campaign with a note reading, “Senator McCain, If you are reading this then you are already DEAD! Unless of course you can’t or don’t breathe.”
21. Mailing 65 threatening letters to financial institutions with white powder.
22. Mailing the Social Security Administration and saying ““I’m going to blow up your office and the IRS office as well.”
23. Sending more than 25 threatening letters to federal, state, and local governmental agencies containing fake Anthrax.
24. Sending a white powder through the U.S. mail to the Internal Revenue Service with a note that says “YOU HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO ANTRAX DIE!”
25. A former sheriff’s deputy forcing a teenage girl to perform sexual acts in his patrol car.
26. Three police officers shooting a 92-year old woman at her home “during the execution of a search warrant obtained by the defendants based upon false information.”
27. Using “deadly weapons including firearms, baseball bats, machetes, bottles or knives in the commission of numerous murders, attempted murders and assaults…kidnapping; obstruction of justice; and witness tampering.”
28. Stealing cattle for personal profit.
29. Setting fire at a petting barn and killing more than 40 animals.
30. Setting dozens of fires that caused “incalculable suffering.”

Of course we could keep going, there’s no shortage of examples to draw from. To be clear, I am not arguing that all of these examples are in fact “terrorism” (I’ll be outlining what I think are the top criteria for defining acts of terrorism in a future article). But if the government defines “terrorism” so broadly as to include releasing mink from fur farms and protesting legally while wearing masks, then why don’t any of these qualify?

An animal rights activist, Daniel Andreas San Diego, is the first “domestic terrorist” to be added to the FBI’s list of most wanted terrorists. The FBI says: “At the time of his flight Mr. San Diego was a committed vegan. If he has maintained this discipline, people around him may notice that he avoids consuming or wearing anything made with animal products.” (Of course, none of the others have their dietary preferences noted. As one reader said in an email, “Word on the street is bin Laden really likes falafel.”)

Mainstream news outlets and blogs on both the left and right have been going nuts about the FBI’s announcement. Yet they’ve overwhelmingly missed the point: this was an overtly, shamelessly political move by the government to deflect attention away from another “terrorism” controversy.

First, some background:

• The FBI has long labeled animal rights activists and environmentalists as the “number one domestic terrorism threat.”
• The FBI made it clear long ago that “eco-terrorists” are a bigger threat than Osama bin Laden, hate crimes, and even attempts to assassinate Obama.
• Daniel Andreas San Diego is the individual who has been added to the “Most Wanted” list because of his alleged involvement in two bombings of biotech facilities that did business with Huntingdon Life Sciences. The FBI put out a warning in Costa Rica media about San Diego traveling down that way in 2008.

Sounds like a lot of old news, right? It is. So why did the FBI hold a press conference announcing the new addition to the list?

It was an overtly political move to neutralize the growing chorus of opposition to the recent DHS memo warning of right-wing extremism. When the memo came out, right wing groups sprang into action (much more so than environmental or animal groups have) and have already filed a lawsuit. Meanwhile, some environmentalists mistakenly saw it as reason to believe the Green Scare is over.

Enter Daniel Andreas San Diego. He hasn’t harmed anyone, and his alleged crimes are nothing compared to Osama bin Laden and others on the list (and nothing compared to right wing groups who have admittedly created weapons of mass destruction). But he’s an easy way to create the false impression that this “War on Terrorism” is somehow bipartisan, that both the left and right are being targeted equally.

Chuck Norris recently showed us that’s a load of garbage. This political maneuvering my placate the right (and the DHS memo may placate some environmentalists). And then it’s back to business as usual.

The press, activists and right-wingers should all know better than to fall for it. Americans shouldn’t settle for anything less than a complete overhaul of “terrorism” priorities, beginning with the removal of political activists who have never harmed anyone from the top of all “terrorism” lists.

This is what fighting “terrorism” in this country has become.

Timothy McVeigh is responsible for the Oklahoma City Bombing, the deadliest act of terrorism in this country prior to 9/11, killing 168 people, but a Homeland Security official says he’s not a terrorist. Neither is Eric Rudolph, who killed two people and injured hundreds others in a bombing campaign against abortion and a “homosexual agenda.”

Pennsylvania’s Homeland Security Director James Powers said:

“Tim McVey [sic] is not a terrorist, just very angry with the U.S. government,” Powers said. “Whether a person is a terrorist or a criminal is irrelevant to me.”

You know whom he and the state police do consider terrorists? The Earth Liberation Front, Animal Liberation Front, and Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, even though actions by those groups have been “relatively minor,” by their admission. Those groups have never injured anyone, let alone killed hundreds, but the Pennsylvania state police is offering free, yes free, “risk and vulnerability assessments” for corporations to help protect their profits from pesky activists. [Sounds kind of like that leaked State Department presentation, doesn't it?]

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated, “news of the weird” kind of incident. It’s systemic.

The Maryland State Police have admitted classifying 53 nonviolent activists as terrorists, including opponents of the war and the death penalty, and tracking them in state and federal “terrorism” databases. Cops infiltrated organizing meetings and rallies, and spied on political email lists, similar to the government infiltration of the RNC.

The groups targeted, including the Maryland Campaign to End the Death Penalty and the Baltimore Pledge of Resistance, aren’t suspected of harming anyone, aren’t suspected of bombing anyone, aren’t even suspected of vandalizing property.

Their crime? They’re “fringe people,” says Thomas E. Hutchins, the former state police superintendent who authorized the operation.

“I don’t believe the First Amendment is any guarantee to those who wish to disrupt the government,” he said.

Get this, one activist was described in police databases as having a “primary crime” of “terrorism-anti-government” and a “secondary crime” of “terrorism-anti-war protesters.” This wasn’t an isolated abuse of power, this is a coordinated campaign of harassment and intimidation.

The gloves are really starting to come off, folks. Years ago, government officials were using these same tactics, but under the pretext of going after illegal, underground groups like the Earth Liberation Front. Now, they are openly, brazenly, harassing and infiltrating nonviolent activist groups with no connection–not even an ideological connection–to saboteurs. Why? This “War on Terrorism,” above all else, is an ideological war.

In some ways, though, I think folks should take some pride in that. Considering what is mainstream government policy now, I’d much rather be in the camp of “fringe people.” As Billy Bragg said, “If you’ve got a blacklist, I want to be on it.”

Animal rights terrorism drill at UC Berkeley.

A terrorism scenario in the nation’s largest homeland security drill involved animal rights activists holding hostages, at gun point.

Seriously.

From The Daily Californian, “Urban Shield Tests Police Ability”:

The atmosphere is surprisingly relaxed, despite the fact that terrorists protesting animal research have taken a hostage in a UC Berkeley building and are threatening to shoot anyone who approaches the scene.

Suddenly, four gunshots are heard inside the building and the officers quickly ascend a four-story fire escape to confront the terrorists.

All this is standard procedure for the San Leandro Police Department tactical team, which was participating in Urban Shield, the nation’s largest homeland security drill.

It’s an interesting choice for a terrorism drill, considering animal rights activists have never taken hostages, and never harmed anyone in this country (not quite the “real world scenario” described on the project’s website, Urban Shield). You might think the government would choose right wing groups for such drills, because they’ve actually murdered people and admittedly created weapons of mass destruction (but they’re not even on DHS lists of national security threats).

Instead, organizers chose to set up this elaborate, illogical scenario of animal rights activists holding hostages. It ain’t an accident, folks. This was a choice, a carefully crafted and vetted decision by this multi-government-agency program.

Terrorism scenarios like this send a clear message that animal rights activists are to be feared. It instills that fear in law enforcement. And it instills that fear in the general public. It helps legitimize the sweeping government attacks on the animal rights and environmental movements, known as the Green Scare, by mainstreaming unreasonable fears.

Most people who see this news clip, or saw this scenario taking place, don’t know enough to differentiate between fact and scare-mongering government fiction. And that’s the point. This way, if folks hear about more grand juries or FBI raids or infiltrating vegan potlucks, they may brush aside their logical concerns and not worry about the civil liberties of those evil, hostage-taking activists.

Why do all that? Well, there’s a lot at stake. The University of California system has been the target of heated animal rights campaigning, including the FBI recklessly attributing the recent bombings in Santa Cruz to animal activists. And the UC system was the chief lobbyist behind the recent “eco-terrorism” legislation. Also, cops in Berkeley recently raided a radical bookstore and community space called the Long Haul Infoshop.

In this political climate, here’s what I think would be a better “training” drill: Militarized police forces, pressured by vested political and corporate interests, attempting to silence political activists, and activists preparing to stand by each other, call attorneys, organize press conferences, know their rights and, most importantly, keep fighting.

I’ve received a ton of emails the last 24 hours about the arrest of a longtime environmental activist in Cincinnati. At this stage, as is usually the case right after arrests, it’s hard to know exactly what’s going on. I think it’s important to get this information out, but also caution against speculation.

That being said, Marie Mason was arrest Monday morning, and at the same time FBI and the Department of Homeland Security searched her home and detained her 16-year-old daughter. A few months ago, Indymedia websites were buzzing with stories claiming that a GPS tracking device was placed on Mason’s car, and that she was detained at gun point.

Here’s an update:

We have confirmed Marie is being held in the Butler County jail (southwestern Ohio) pending transfer to Michigan. She is being held on suicide watch which we believe is just another tactic of the state to break her down and further isolate her from friends and family.

Federal agents are contacting people on Marie’s cell phone list claiming they are contacting folks on Marie’s behalf to pass along information. We want everyone to know this is bullshit. We were able to briefly speak with Marie, who despite the current situation is in good spirits. Marie is not asking the state to contact anyone on her behalf. Realize if you know/knew Marie your contact information was likely seized when they raided her house. Understand these are old-school COINTELPRO style tactics that have been historically used to disrupt and confuse support networks and activist circles. Stay focused, stay safe, and don’t talk to law enforcement no matter how innocent it may seem.

At this time there’s a lot we don’t know. Please understand speculation, rumors, and hearsay help no one. We will be forthcoming with confirmed information on Marie’s current situation as it becomes available.

Big Brother isn’t just watching. He’s making biometric databases, recruiting firefighters and redefining “privacy.”

There’s been a lot going on in terms of government surveillance and privacy concerns. Here’s a few highlights:

• Do you look like a terrorist? The FBI is spending $1 billion create the biggest biometric database in the world. That means the feds are gathering people’s physical characteristics, everything from iris pattern to gait, in hopes of identifying “terrorists.” According to The Washington Post:

  If all goes as planned, a police officer making a traffic stop or a border agent at an airport could run a 10-fingerprint check on a suspect and within seconds know if the person is on a database of the most wanted criminals and terrorists. An analyst could take palm prints lifted from a crime scene and run them against the expanded database. Intelligence agents could exchange biometric information worldwide.

  There are two very big dangers here. The first is mistaken identity (it’s hard enough clearing up an error on a phone bill, imagine how hard it would be to clear up a “terrorist” label in government databases). The second is intentionally putting people on lists and in databases. The government would like everyone to believe this would only be used against “evil-doers,” but as we’ve seen, animal rights and environmental advocates have intentionally been listed as the “number one domestic terrorist threat.”

• Over in the UK, animal rights activists have become the first people ordered by the court to turn over PGP keys. Police seized computers during home raids, and can’t seem to unlock the data without the passwords.

  Many of you have probably heard of PGP, an email encryption program that that has become popular worldwide with business execs, attorneys, and even grassroots activists. For a while I used the program and had my “public key” on this site, so activists can email me their stories securely.

  PGP isn’t (or shouldn’t be) used to encrypt emails that talk about illegal activity. That’s not the point. The purpose is to have a bit of privacy in an age of identity theft, government spying and a bigger Big Brother. Well, surprise surprise, the government doesn’t like that very much.

• A U.S. court, however, ruled that a man charged with transporting child pornography can’t be forced to divulge his PGP passphrase.
• The Department of Homeland Security wants firefighters to snoop around for “terrorist” activity while on the job. (Check out the video from Raw Story at the top.) Way to go, DHS, trying to turn a trusted, respected occupation into a mini spy program. Besides the civil liberties concerns here, it’s a major public safety risk. If people have to worry that they might have something “suspicious” in their home, it could deter people from calling 911.

  Remember, DHS already tried to deputize truckers as terrorist scouts. Who is next, paramedics?

• Hushmail, an email provider that boasts “not even a Hushmail employee with access to our servers can read your encrypted e-mail,” turned over encrypted data to the Feds.
• And the FBI is using MySpace to place spyware on computers.
• But don’t worry about things like privacy or security. CNN reports that a top national intelligence official doesn’t think those things exist anymore, anyway. Donald Kerr, the principal deputy director of national intelligence, says:
  

  “Protecting anonymity isn’t a fight that can be won. Anyone that’s typed in their name on Google understands that.”

  Kurt Opsahl, a senior staff lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, says Kerr’s argument ignores both privacy laws and American history.

  “Anonymity has been important since the Federalist Papers were written under pseudonyms,” Opsahl said. “The government has tremendous power: the police power, the ability to arrest, to detain, to take away rights. Tying together that someone has spoken out on an issue with their identity is a far more dangerous thing if it is the government that is trying to tie it together.”

The Department of Homeland Security distributed a bulletin on Thursday to help corporations fight “eco-terrorism” like “flyer distribution,” “graffiti,” and “tying up company phone lines.”

Go ahead and laugh, but it gets worse. There are two things in this bulletin that are dead serious:

1. DHS admits it has “no specific, credible information at this time suggesting animal rights extremists and eco-terrorists are planning to target known corporations.”

2. In addition to “organizing protests” and “inundating computers with e-mails,” DHS later notes other tactics like verbal harassment and vandalism. But NOWHERE in the bulletin is the word “violence” used.

So why waste taxpayer money, and valuable homeland security resources, preparing and distributing this bulletin when there is no “credible information,” and no fear of violence? Money.

Animal rights activists and environmentalists are succeeding where so many consumer boycotts, petitions and other status quo acts of protest have miserably failed: they’re hurting corporate profits.

Corporations are scared, and they’re pressuring the administration and law enforcement to step in. This bulletin is one part of the government’s corporate aid.

DHS admits as much. The very first line of the bulletin reads:

“Attacks against corporations by animal rights extremists and eco-terrorists are costly to the targeted company and, over time, can undermine confidence in the economy.”

That’s what all this “eco-terrorism” rhetoric is about — using fears of terrorism to justify cracking down on pesky activists that hurt corporate profits. It’s time we call a spade a spade, and force lawmakers to stop wasting money fighting “flyer distribution.”

P.S. Congrats to Justin Rood for getting his hands on this bulletin first.