This link has been bookmarked by 1 people . It was first bookmarked on 06 Apr 2008, by Arne Løining.
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06 Apr 08
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It could herald far more intrusive surveillance techniques, without warrants, and has the potential to criminalise ideas and not actions. It could mean penalties for a stance rather than a criminal act,"
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Rather than seeking to criminalise "extremist" acts, it targets beliefs, or what many people are calling "thoughtcrimes".
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The Orwellian-sounding Violent Radicalisation and Home-Grown Terrorism Prevention Act
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"They're either going to fall apart, or they're going to come together and show that, no matter how many arrests are made or how hard the government tries to crack down on dissent, the people aren't going to be quiet."
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The [US government's] tactics are designed to scare and silence people who might speak out against the government normally."
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Domestic terrorism is a top priority of the FBI and we will continue to aggressively investigate and pursue prosecution of all such matters,
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Everyone who is an activist is now a target. Big Brother is here
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Regan and other civil libertarians accuse it of using illegal tactics, threatening people with hundreds of years in prison for their roles in petty arsons, infiltrating groups, massive surveillance, hiring provocateurs, and handing out sentences of 20 years or more for offences that in other times would bring a maximum of two to four years.
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Environmental and animal rights activists are being targeted, it is believed, not because they are dangerous, but because in the wake of 9/11 the government needs scapegoats beyond Muslims, and people - often young, white and middle-class - with defined ideologies who target corporate America are easy and attractive game.
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In return for up to $100,000 of state money, says Regan, Ferguson was wired up by the FBI in 2003 to entrap his co-conspirators.
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According to two women who testified against her in return for dramatically reduced sentences, this mild-mannered, pacifist tree-sitter with a young child and no previous convictions hid in shrubbery by the University of Washington's GM tree laboratory back in 1999 while others set fire to it. Last month she was in court and testified that she wasn't even in Seattle that night, but she was found guilty of arson and will now receive a mandatory sentence of up to 20 years.
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The attack on the twin towers led directly to the draconian Patriot Act, which created a new category of domestic terrorism and allowed the FBI to expand its domestic and international powers. Many actions previously considered vandalism (and attracting sentences of two to four years) could now be classed as major acts of terror, and life sentences could be passed.
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"We all know that intelligence agencies regularly plant stories to discredit people that the White House doesn't like,"
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"At one time there were issues involving an environmental group that had opposed the development but it's our understanding that the parties settled their differences."
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The more anyone looks into the arson, the more they suspect that it has probably got more to do with fraud or political smearing and dirty tricks than with terrorism
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Instead of striking fear into the heart of middle America, the incident has revealed growing civil liberty fears about the US government's redefinition of terrorism, and a breakdown of trust in the authorities.
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