Students: FBI lecture displays watch list ( Indy Media and Food not Bombs)

[Sydnie]

Students who attended an FBI official's guest lecture at the UT School of Law say that Independent Media Collective and Food Not Bombs were included in a presentation about possible domestic terrorism.

G. Charles Rasner, a supervisory senior resident agent and head of Austin's Joint Terror Task Force, spoke at Professor Ronald Sievert's United States Law and National Security class March 8. During the lecture, Rasner gave a PowerPoint presentation that several students say included a list of organizations the FBI watches for possible domestic criminal or terror activity in Central Texas.

"The entire slideshow was about terror groups in Texas," said Ian Roberts, a law school student who attended the lecture. Roberts said that the list included al-Qaeda, Texas separatists, the Earth Liberation Front, the Texas Communist Party, IndyMedia and Food Not Bombs as suspect cause groups.

IndyMedia is a worldwide network of journalists and independent media outlets, and Food Not Bombs serves free vegetarian and vegan food to homeless people.


http://www.dailytexanonline.com/media/paper410/news/2006/03/24/TopStories/Students.Fbi.Lecture.Displays.Watch.List-1716066.shtml?norewrite200603270129&sourcedomain=www.dailytexanonline.com

[formercia]

1. That will teach 'em

for not serving Beef critter in Texas.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. well, that means I'm on the list...

Hi Agent Mike!

do you know HOW LONG I HAVE BEEN WAITING TO USE THAT EMOTICON???!


:)

[Sydnie]

3. Glad I could oblige then

Here's a good one too

[ClayZ]

27. Food Not Bombs!

http://www.foodnotbombs.net/

We are on that list too, then!


http://www.courant.com/news/nationworld/hc-fbi0327.artmar27,0,3426452.story?coll=hc-headlines-nationworld

DENVER -- The FBI, while waging a highly publicized war against terrorism, has gathered information on anti-war and environmental protesters, and on activists who feed vegetarian meals to the homeless, the agency's internal memos show.

snip>

An FBI counterterrorism official showed 35 slides listing militia, neo-Nazi and Islamist groups. Senior Spec. Agent Charles Rasner said that one slide, titled "Anarchism," listed groups an analyst believed people intent on terrorism might associate with. It included Food Not Bombs, which mainly serves vegetarian food to homeless people, and, with a question mark next to it, Indymedia, a Web site featuring articles written by radical journalists and activists.

Both groups are among numerous organizations affiliated with anarchists and anti-globalization protests. Elizabeth Wagoner, 23, said she was one of the few students who objected to the groups' inclusion on the list. "My friends do Indymedia," she said. "My friends aren't terrorists."

Rasner said he'd never heard of the two groups before and didn't mean to condemn them. But he added that it made sense to worry about violent people emerging from anarchist networks. "Any group can have somebody that goes south."



:kick:

[Fridays Child]

4. Even those who disagree with the mission of Food Not Bombs...

...should be disturbed by this. But freepturds and their ilk are too stupid to understand that it won't be long before FR finds itself on the terrorist watch list, too.

[depakid]

11. FR actually belongs there!

Mark my words- that hate site will be implicated in violence one day (if it hasn't been already).

[MisterP]

29. the only way to get OFF the list is to commit violence!

not a hint of abortion-clinic bombers or yahoos with rifles in Texas and Idaho or lynch mobs, but a brick, wire cutter, or just a HOT MEAL can make you the equal of Osama who must be run to the ground.

[kestrel91316]

36. That's because, in TX, bombing an abortion clinic is an act of

PATRIOTISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TechBear_Seattle]

17. Who would disagree with the mission of Food Not Bombs?

The cattle industry? Big Pork? Who?

[Fridays Child]

19. I know that it defies reality but there are those who do.

Freepturds do, for example. You know that Food Not Bombs fed Camp Casey, which really pissed off the bushistas. And that may account for why they now suffer this administration's wrath. But, if that Fresno Peace group was infiltrated by an undercover agent, back when Michael Moore filmed Fahrenheit 911, I'll bet Food Not Bombs was already being watched, by that time, too.

[glitch]

25. There are far right extremists that think sustainability is a threat

I guess because it threatens the ever expanding pie.

[ClayZ]

30. They are probably watching all the Farmers Markets, too!

LOL!

Find one here!

http://www.localharvest.org




Gotta watch out for those ORGANIC people!

[glitch]

32. Probably! So sad, they probably aren't even embarassed by their actions nt

[okieinpain]

26. oh no, see you kinda got it wrong. they don't give a shit as long as

repugs are running things. let dems get control of congress or the white house then they will give a damn. all you will hear is about how their rights are being taken away.

[William Seger]

5. And of course...

... ANYONE they put on the list is a target for "terrorist surveillance." Does anyone doubt that's exactly Bush*Co ignores the FISA law? Do you think he could get a warrent for spying on Food Not Bombs?

[radfringe]

6. yeah, right...presentation contained no mention of a terrorist watch list

--snip--

Wagoner told IndyMedia she requested a copy of the PowerPoint presentation at the end of class and was denied by Rasner.

Rasner was unavailable for comment. FBI spokesman Rene Salinas said that to his knowledge, the presentation contained no mention of a terrorist watch list.

============

:eyes: must have been the student's imagination that these groups were mentioned....

[rodeodance]

21. Would this be ALL of those on the list? Just wondering-parsing words?

.....the presentation contained no mention of a terrorist watch list.

[Judi Lynn]

7. FBI records show terrorism focus includes activists

March 27, 2006, 1:36AM
FBI records show terrorism focus includes activists
ACLU contends those with no ties to crime watched

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI
Los Angeles Times

DENVER - The FBI, while waging a highly publicized war against terrorism, has spent resources gathering information on anti-war and environmental protesters, and activists who feed vegetarian meals to the homeless, the agency's internal memos show.

For years, the FBI's definition of terrorism has included violence against property, such as window smashing during the 1999 Seattle protests against the World Trade Organization.

Officials say that international terrorists pose the greatest threat to the nation, but they cannot ignore crimes committed by some activists.

"It's one thing to express an idea or such, but when you commit acts of violence in support of that activity, that's where our interest comes in," said Bill Carter, an FBI spokesman in Washington.
(snip/...)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/3749685.html

[Kagemusha]

8. Sounds like it's about when you *might* commit acts of violence.

And you might commit it because you're an activist group or a member thereof, regardless of how peaceful your ideals and methodology appears to be.

Preventive surveillance.

[rodeodance]

20. yes, as you say--part of 'preventive" mentality of gov.

[cornermouse]

9. When they're spying on Quakers, jailing elderly nuns,

and threatening people who publicly say that they oppose the Patriot Act, can we really be considered a free nation?

On second thought, I'll go further. During the Clinton admininstration I drove by a local church organization's sign that could have easily been interpreted as a open threat to his life. I couldn't believe that a church, let alone one that is fairly well known, would do that. A couple of weeks later when I drove by again, it was still there. Why do I suspect the FBI did not drop in for a visit?

[TheBaldyMan]

31. peace activists have definately been earmarked for surveillance

code pink and others. It seems that anti-war equates with anti-american in the minds of the Bush administration

[anitar1]

10. Has J. Edgar reincarnated? sounds as lame and sick as his

reign.They are total buffoons.Can't find any real dangerous organizations, or intend to find the average Joe dangerous? Sounds like a dicktatorship.

[Dogmudgeon]

12. Oh NO! I'm ON THE LIST!

One of the (computer) architects of IndyMedia was a housemate of mine. He gave me a thank-you on-line for some small favor, like giving him some links to a Linux/BSD archive.

I'M DOOMED! DOOMED, I SAY!

My career is OVER!

Wait a minute. My career was over when American industry shipped most of its office programming work to "Auld Punjab".

Never mind!

--p!
Radical? MOI? Who would ever want to hurt a Hilbert Flower?
(See Sig line, too.)

[RedSock]

14. don't laugh

as the law currently stands, you could be disappeared off to Gitmo (or elsewhere) for the rest of your life for that connection -- merely at the whim of *.

let freedom reign!

[Dogmudgeon]

15. I already have some experience with that

In 1978, I was investigated by the FBI -- and several of my friends were interrogated -- over "anonymous reports" that I planned to start a demonstration and possible riot over the renewal of the Selective Service system.

Why was that?

I co-edited a humor newspaper in college. President Carter had planned a mock draft call-up to test the system, so I wrote an article about a mock draft protest. The local right-wing activist group, called "TALK", was the one who appearantly contacted the FBI. "TALK" was an acronym, but nobody seemed to know what it stood for.

TALK and the adult version, TELL, eventually came to the attention of the FBI themselves when an enormous arsenal was found in the basement of a strip-mall-based church (a storefront shrine to St. Catherine "I Hate Jews" Emmerick, who was also featured in The Passion of the Christ) around 1983. If there had been an "accidental discharge of ordnance", it would have carved an enormous crater in the side of a hill overlooking a major "artery" road, destroyed close to half a mile of the road, and killed several hundred people in their cars and in the two adjacent residential areas. Plus a U-Haul place.

The "G-men", according to pals, looked as if they were mainly pissed at having to follow up on a non-problem rather than some young "revolutionary". Althought having two FBI field agents walk into the Student Assembly offices and start flashing badges was certainly a sphincter-tightening experience, they were polite and apologetic to a degree, and decided that the Republic would surivive my so-called anti-American machinations.

I'm sure my ass will be grass if the fit hits the shan. I'm betting that it won't, because the right-wing movement is finally dying after nearly forty years.

--p!

[NVMojo]

13. what a bunch of McCarthy horseshit! They are afraid of action

on the part of dissenters! Or maybe they are just afraid of people who think for themselves and don't drink they crappy ass koolaid.

[truthisfreedom]

16. and not a SINGLE listing of groups that picket abortion clinics... the

single most likely source of terror in our country.

[rodeodance]

18. good observation.

[HeatherDawn]

22. Vegans are the terrorists of the meat industry!!!!

[ClayZ]

28. Graphic of FNB terrorists:

[foo_bar]

34. those kids on balloons, they're headed for the sun! Oh the humanity.

[lostnfound]

35. That is beautiful! Ran across it when I looked at a 'random journal'

which randomly selected yours..

[rodeodance]

23. k and nom.

[JudyM]

24. Hopefully the censure hearings will touch on the groups being monitored

Wishful thinking, I know, but wouldn't it be great if this came out!?

[EVDebs]

33. I've got a real flair for the obvious so here goes...how did they miss

Moussoui and all the FISA requests for opening HIS computer ? Oh, I see, too busy with PETA and the Raging Grannies and those high threat Quakers (some were on disability).

I'd laugh but the tears start.