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An Unwelcome Envelope Delivers Unsettling News
At newspapers we try to cover the news, not be in it.
That changed dramatically Monday for us a few minutes before 4 p.m.
The letter was crudely scribbled with "Times Argus Editor" and our address. It was small, poorly sealed, a bit wrinkled and had a bulky letter inside it. Aside from being a bit more scrawled than most, it looked not much different from a lot of other hand-written material we get here, generically addressed, mixed in among the daily flood of press releases, announcements, pamphlets, reports and manila envelopes.
Some are written by kids, others by elders whose hand writing is shaky. So I didn't think anything of it when I tore it open, looked inside and pulled out a poorly folded piece of lined yellow legal paper. With it came a fine white powder, which spilled on the floor, got on my hands and as I was to notice later with amusing results — though much here was not be laughed at — on my pants.
In a split second, a normal workday plunged into an Alice's rabbit hole of modern-day terror concerns, emergency protocols and procedures, and you-can't-be-too careful attitudes that are equal parts prudent precaution and absurdity. And I was right at its center, looking at the grinning Cheshire cat of lunacy in our modern world.
The mail normally is opened and distributed by the time I come in, but with holiday vacations the stack had not been touched. As deputy editor, I always like to rummage through the pile for news ideas and see who is writing about what on the letters front, since I oversee the letters page and editorials. The letters page here has long been a vibrant and passionate and well-read forum: It's the editorial edge of the fault line of all the issues that shake America. Abortion, the Iraq war, patriotism, what's public information and what's not, crime and punishment, you name it.
When the powder spilled out, I went, "What?" Then the mental calculus feverishly started adding and subtracting.
On one side of the equation: This is Vermont. The letter was mailed in Barre, no one here is going to have anthrax or poison. We can't possibly have made anyone this mad. No one's crazy enough here to put something evil in a letter. This can't be happening here.
On the other side of the equation I figured: It's 99.9 percent against the chances some crank got hold of something poison and mailed it to us. But the tiny percent chance that I was wrong carried a lot of weight. I had been exposed, two other newsroom staffers and Ron, the building supervisor, had been there, the fine powder had spilled on the floor. What if it really was something toxic? I knew I could not take that chance. What I didn't know is the enormity of the reaction the letter would set off.
I got a plastic trash bag and put the envelope in it and put it on my desk. I went to wash my hands, rinsed my mouth out with water, told the news staffers what had happened. I first called the post office and they told me to call the police. I reported what happened, noting it was probably nothing but just to be safe, I felt we had to report it.
Within seconds the scanner erupted. Police arrived, fire trucks arrived and two firemen donned respirators — Homeland Security funds at work — walked back with me (with no respirator) to inspect the envelope, then came back and reported to a superior. Newsroom staffers continued their business, watching with amusement, and amazement. A Barre police officer took my name and address. We wondered what would unfold.
What followed was four hours of disruption, humor, discussion, frustration. The newspaper was quarantined. Some 25 employees could not leave at day's end, and were brought to the newspaper's foyer away from the newsroom. Some had to make emergency arrangements for baby and child care, others were delayed going home after a long day.
Outside, curious commuters drove by looking at the emergency apparatus in our parking lot, lights flashing; editors, reporters and pressroom staff were prevented from getting in to put out the paper.
One dinky letter had brought central Vermont's emergency response system to full alert, disrupting the paper and mobilizing the local emergency machinery. The hospital was notified, and a hazardous materials team called.
It took them a couple of hours to arrive, during which time our heating and ventilation system was shut down just in case, and those of us stuck inside cracked jokes with the emergency crews.
The deadly seriousness of the what-ifs played against the absurdity of the huge response required. We seesawed between gallows humor and concern, understanding and wondering what the world had come to — what even sane Vermont had come too — if this was all necessary.
A half-dozen city firefighters were forced to stand around, along with a Barre police officer and the commanding officer of the state police Middlesex Barracks, Lt. David Harrington and other Barre officials. The static squawk of emergency radios erupted on and off and off in the newsroom, now evacuated, white-suit clad "hazmat" investigators with their testing kits worked trying to rule out poison or toxic substances. In a delicious irony, this occurred on the desk of a staffer finicky about keeping it clean and neat.
Because I had spilled some of the powder on my pants, I was asked to take off my clothes as a precaution, put them in a plastic bag and don a bright blue crinkly tarp-like double-size decontamination suit brought in by the hazmat team, courtesy of Homeland Security.
I looked ridiculous, like the Michelin man or a deflated balloon figure; my penance for bringing all this on (though staffers said at least it nicely brought out the blue in my eyes.) Trust me: Hazmat suit chic is a nonstarter on the fashion scene. Yet if it was poison, if by some tiny chance we had been exposed, there would be no humor.
We learned a decontamination shower might have to be set up outside, in zero-degree weather. Some female employees, with a tinge of worry, wanted to know just how that might work. A suggestion was made that a hydrant would be opened and they'd run me through it naked.
And so it went, until around 7 p.m., hazmat chief Christopher Herrick, still wearing his white protective suit, announced the powder was probably some kind of salt, not cyanide or anthrax or arsenic or something else dangerous. That was confirmed Tuesday in a final test by the Vermont Health Department.
We could all go home to our families and homes, or finally get to work, four hours late in trying to put out the paper. We could put aside the knowledge that this was a deadly serious business for emergency crews, despite all the jokes and inconvenience. Some day it could be for real.
I never got to read the letter that caused the problem, since Lt. Harrington declined to give it to us or release the information. There's more than one way to skin the news cat, though. We learned that the unsigned letter objected to our printing bankruptcy information in the Sunday paper. At least we knew what had disrupted our lives and business, no thanks to the police.
It all amounted to a four-hour false alarm, but a costly one. We all know any news organization – any business or government agency for that matter – faces the same risk in a world where angry or disassociated people increasingly feel it's OK to vent their frustrations with a hoax. I just never figured it would happen here.
But it did.
And that's a lesson for us all.
29 Dec 2004, Times Argus
Denver Mosque Evacuated for Suspicious
Package
A suspicious package delivered to a mosque forced its evacuation and closure shortly before afternoon services Monday.
The Arapahoe County Sheriff's office bomb squad found no explosives and said it appeared the small green cardboard box was delivered to the Colorado Muslim Society as hoax intended to alarm worshippers, sheriff Grayson Robinson said.
Bystanders said a man in a small car drove up, placed the box on the sidewalk and flashed a peace sign with his fingers before driving away.
Deputies found a small religious pamphlet with handwriting on the back of the package.
''If we identify this person, he will be charged with harassment and hate crime,'' Robinson said. ''I personally believe this went a little beyond free speech, for a person to actually drive into the mosque, put this pack on the doorstep and drive away quickly.''
The mosque,
southwest of Denver in an Arapahoe County island has previously
been the target of derogatory graffiti or signs, Robinson said.
27 December 2004, AP
Anthrax Scare at Norwegian Embassy
The Norwegian Embassy was shut down due to an anthrax scare when a parcel containing a white powder was discovered at the premises around noon yesterday, Colombo DIG Sirisena Herath told the Daily News.
The DIG visited the embassy following the discovery and the package was sent to the Medical Research Institute for tests to verify its contents.
Police were unable to say whether it was a hoax or not. This was the second such incident at the Norwegian Embassy.
The Norwegian
Special Peace envoy Eric Solheim is in the country on a duty tour
to bridge differences that keeps the two parties, the Government
and the LTTE away from peace talks. Solheim is scheduled to leave
Colombo today
17 Dec 20, Daily News
Fake Bomb Lands in Amsterdam After Eluding
Baggage Screeners
A fake bomb that eluded detection by federal security screeners at Newark Liberty International Airport was found in a bag on a Continental Airlines flight that landed yesterday morning in Amsterdam, federal officials said.
The retrieval of the bag ended an embarrassing breach of security that began in Newark Airport's Terminal C on Tuesday night when screeners lost track of the fake bomb during a baggage screening test. The black, soft-covered bag, containing simulated Semtex plastic explosives, a detonator, wiring and a clock, somehow made its way onto Flight 70 bound for the Netherlands with more than 200 passengers aboard.
A U.S. Transportation Security Administration representative based in Belgium was dispatched to Amsterdam yesterday to get the fake bomb back, but the repercussions of yet another security breakdown at Newark Airport were far from over.
The TSA said it had launched an investigation into the incident, describing it as a training exercise gone awry.
"It was part of a testing kit. It was a simulated explosive constructed with an inert material that was mishandled and loaded onto an airplane," said Amy Von Walter, a TSA spokeswoman. "We're investigating. The screening personnel involved will be provided remedial training as necessary."
TSA also issued a statement, which said, in part, "TSA Trainers conducting the assessment immediately realized that the inert bag had proceeded to the bag room and they immediately proceeded to the bag room in order to recover the bag. ... At no time did the bag containing inert material pose any danger to passengers or the aircraft."
Two TSA officials familiar with the matter said the test should never have happened in the first place. It was conducted, they said, by a screening supervisor who was not cleared by TSA headquarters in Virginia to oversee training exercises. The supervisor was reassigned to another post yesterday.
Officials said the bag involved had Continental's destination tag to Amsterdam. The test was conducted on screeners manning the SUV-sized bomb-detection machines, which are designed to set off an alarm on explosive residue. The exercise was conducted in the hour before Flight 70's 7 p.m. departure.
The incident also raised questions of whether TSA's local management notified TSA headquarters in Arlington, Va., or the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey -- the airport's operator -- in a timely fashion.
Individuals familiar with the matter say TSA's command center was not notified for at least two hours after the incident, while Port Authority police were not told of the incident by TSA until more than 12 hours had passed.
"The Port Authority police play an important role in security at Newark Liberty International Airport," said a statement issued by Lou Martinez, an agency spokesman. "And we should be informed about any security matters. We expect this will not happen again."
Marcus Arroyo, the federal security director at Newark Airport, said he properly informed the TSA's command center of the breach as per the agency's protocol.
"When I was notified on a timely basis, I notified Washington on a timely basis," said Arroyo.
He declined to respond to the Port Authority's criticism.
Continental officials declined comment, referring the matter to TSA.
U.S. Sens. Jon Corzine and Frank Lautenberg (both D-N.J.) called on Rear Adm. David Stone, who heads the TSA, to investigate. In a joint statement, they said that because Newark Airport is one of the nation's largest and "one of three airports used by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001, it should be a critical priority for TSA."
Newark Airport has experienced screener staffing shortages and various security troubles this year.
In May, The Star-Ledger reported that thousands of checked bags were not being electronically screened for explosives each day as required by Congress and checkpoints were significantly understaffed, according to current and former screeners and supervisors and internal e-mail. TSA hired more baggage screeners and said all checked luggage was being properly checked by month's end.
In October, the newspaper -- citing confidential TSA reports -- reported that checkpoint screeners missed one-in-four fake explosives and weapons in weekly tests during the summer. And earlier this month, the paper reported that screeners missed an average six work weeks -- on top of their vacation and holiday time -- through mid-October because of sickness, injuries and unpaid leaves.
Of the latest
breach, the senators wrote Stone: "We find this incident
to be alarming and believe it merits the immediate attention of
your office
16 December 2004, Star News
Spanish Bomb Hoax Raises Security Concerns
in Stadiums Worldwide
Spanish authorities won praise on Monday for clearing Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in just minutes after receiving a bomb threat – but Real Madrid's president said it set a bad precedent to suspend the match mid-game.
Sunday's threat, allegedly from Basque separatists, proved a hoax and the conclusion of the match between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad was rescheduled for Jan. 5, the Spanish soccer federation said Monday.
But “what happened is a very bad precedent,'' Real Madrid club president Florentino Perez said afterward. “It's scary that this sort of thing might become a trend.''
The hoax highlighted the issue of security at major sports venues such as Real Madrid's home stadium, where few fans are searched on their way in.
Seventy-thousand people had packed the stadium on Sunday evening to see David Beckham, Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane.
With just two minutes of official time remaining, referee Lizondo Cortes halted the game. Cortes then pointed the players toward the tunnel.
Officials urged spectators to remain calm and asked them to evacuate, and the 70,000 spectators were out within 10 minutes. No one was injured, and the Spanish press praised the fans for exiting quickly and safely.
The threat was transmitted through the Basque newspaper Gara, which the armed separatist group ETA often uses to relay its warnings, including a series of small bombings in Madrid last weekend.
Perez said he happened to be with the director general of Spanish police at the time the threat was communicated. “We spoke and saw the extent of the threat.''
Soccer's ruling organisations, UEFA and FIFA, downplayed the bomb threat on Monday.
Bomb threats have affected several sports events in Europe. At the Summer Olympics, Greek police received a bomb threat before the opening ceremony – but chose not to evacuate. That threat turned out to be a hoax.
In April, 10 suspects were arrested in Britain on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack at Manchester United's Old Trafford Stadium. All 10 later were released without charge.
England's
Grand National in 1997, the world's most famous steeplechase horse
race, was postponed for two days because of a bomb threat by the
IRA.
15 December 2004, AP
Plan
for weapons searches in pubs
Pubs and clubs identified as trouble spots could be forced to
search customers for knives and weapons, under new Home Office
proposals.
The idea is among measures for reducing violent crime announced
by the home secretary on Wednesday.
Police would be given powers to force places with a history of disorder to search people for banned weapons.
David Blunkett also formally revealed plans to raise the age at which people can legally buy knives from 16 to 18.
In a statement, Mr Blunkett said the government was "seriously considering" strengthening the law to help get knives off our streets.
"Bringing in a ban on under-18s buying knives - as at present with alcohol and fireworks - will play a key part in this, as will action by Education Secretary Charles Clarke on tackling knives in schools," he said.
The government has already said schools could be given powers to search pupils for weapons.
"Working together with the police and community groups, the government is committed to action, particularly through our strategy on violent crime, to help build safe and secure communities," Mr Blunkett said.
The Home Office will consult with retailers and police on the proposal to extend the ban on the sale of knives.
The Home Office has rejected calls made earlier this week for the introduction of a five-year minimum sentence for people caught carrying knives.
Mr Blunkett also announced measures to include as banned weapons other implements police say are used in street fights, such as potato peelers or penknives.
The Home Office said Mr Blunkett would "seriously consider" a proposal to require licensed premises to search customers before letting them in, or install airport-style security systems.
A metal scanner, based on technology used in prisons, was trialled last week at Hammersmith Bus Garage, in west London, as part of Scotland Yard's anti-knife crime scheme, Operation Blunt.
The site was chosen because of the number of public disorder offences occurring there and the influx of people from across London who use the station daily.
Commander Simon Foy, leading the operation, said police would now focus on educating teenagers on the dangers of carrying knives.
"The Met is saying enough is enough. There is an unacceptable level of knife-related violence taking place on our streets," he said.
15 Dec 2004,
BBC
Letter
Bomb Sent to Italian Police Association
Suspected anarchists mailed a small package bomb to the Rome headquarters of the national Carabinieri police association, which was defused on Saturday without incident, authorities said.
About 40 grams of gunpowder were packed inside a video-cassette case, which arrived in the mail at the association shortly after 11 am..
No group has claimed credit for the device, which was similar to the one sent to the union offices of Roman prison guards on Friday. That package bomb was also defused.
Saturday's discovery was the latest in a series of package bombs and other threatening items sent to offices of police, newspapers and government offices in Rome and other cities over the past year by suspected militant anarchists.
Authorities say the anarchists may be angered over the arrests of members.
The offices
of political party, the Northern League, said it received an envelope
on Friday with two bullets and a letter with the names of party
members: Justice Minister Roberto Castelli and Reforms Minister
Roberto Calderoli
11 Dec
2004, Reuters
Letter Bomb Delivered to Union Offices in Rome
A letter bomb containing an explosive video cassette was sent to the national office of Sappe, the autonomous prison officers trades union, on Via Trionfale 79 in Rome. The package was opened by a secretary who notices various electric wires connected to a battery and to the video tape and quickly called the Carabinieri. Bomb disposal experts arrived and found the package contained around 40 grams of explosive. The bomb was designed to explode when opened. According to what's been know, in the space reserved for sender, was written DAP, the Prisons Department.
10 Dec 2004,
AGI
Animal Rights Extremists Called Threat
to British Commerce
The threat to British commerce from domestic animal rights activists has become economically comparable to the threat posed by terrorists, a think tank says.
Aegis Defense Services, a London think tank, says in a report animal rights activists pose a compelling threat to the nation's $30 billion pharmaceutical and biotechnology research and development industries, the Times of London reported Friday.
Aegis said the threat from animal rights extremists is economically comparable to that posed by Islamic terror groups like al-Qaida that seek to attack shipping lanes with containerized goods arriving in Britain from Asia.
"Single-issue terrorism and animal rights extremist terrorist activity in Europe will grow with more ambitious strategic targets ... and there are fascinating parallels between the economic agenda of al-Qaida and animal rights extremist networks," the report says.
"As the U.K. government and industry fail to act effectively against animal rights extremists, so the activists will maintain their momentum in establishing effective offshoots in a number of European countries, especially Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Russia," the report says.
11 Dec 2004,
UPI
Bomb Explodes in Citibank Argentina
A small bomb exploded early today in an Argentine branch of Citibank but nobody was injured, police said.
A bomb squad removed a second package suspected to contain a bomb before it exploded, police said after the fourth attack this year on banks in Argentina.
No group claimed responsibility for the bombs. In November, three blasts in the capital, including two at Citibank, killed one security guard and injured a bomb squad officer.
Foreign banks were widely blamed for contributing to the country's economic collapse in 2001 and 2002, when hundreds of depositors lost lifetime savings.
The latest explosion took place at an ATM machine of the bank in the city of Santa Fe, causing minor damage, police said.
"There are no victims, only some damage to the windows and to the automatic bank machine," a police source in Santa Fe told Reuters.
The bomb, which went off at 7.30am (9.30om AEDT) appeared to be hand-made, he said.
The government
has never said who it believes is behind the string of bombings.
10 Dec 2004, Reuters
French Bomb Squad Loses Explosive Training
Device and Causes Terror Threat
A moment of carelessness had humiliating consequences for French bomb squad officers, when they accidentally mislaid an explosive device, hidden for training purposes in an unknown passenger's suitcase, triggering a global terror alert.
Officers training sniffer dogs at Roissy airport outside Paris this weekend slipped 150g of plastic explosive in the side pocket of a blue bag, selected randomly from luggage waiting to be loaded on to a plane.
While they went to find a trainee dog to sniff it out, baggage handlers put the suitcase on a conveyor belt, where it was swiftly dispatched on to a waiting plane.
On Sunday night the explosive was still missing.
Since the bomb squad officers had failed to check where the bag was travelling to, they had no option but to inform staff on 90 flights heading out of Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport on Friday evening of the possible presence of explosives in the hold. Police, airlines and airport officials all over the world were put on standby.
French police admitted that there had been "a momentary lack of surveillance", but in a damage limitation exercise, tried to reassure their colleagues internationally that the small package had no detonator, and would not react to movement, shock or fire, and was therefore "no more dangerous than a bar of chocolate".
The embarrassment was nevertheless profound.
Four of the flights were en route to the United States, some were domestic French flights and others took off for Japan and Brazil.
The 362 passengers on an Air France flight to Los Angeles were evacuated from their plane and delayed for three hours while their luggage was inspected.
The US Transportation Security Administration said several planes were searched on arrival in New York. US news channels carried reports of the oversight hourly.
The two officers responsible are to face an internal investigation.
"It's clear that there was an error. This kind of thing should not happen," a police spokesman said last night.
French airports have intensified their anti-bomb surveillance measures after Richard Reid passed through security with explosive hidden in his shoe two years ago and boarded a flight to Miami.
No passenger has yet reported finding bomb-making materials in their baggage.
A police spokesman conceded that the owner of a dark blue suitcase with a retractable handle and wheels might be in for an unpleasant shock when he discovered the lump of clay-like explosives planted in a side pocket.
"One
could imagine that the passenger might feel annoyed," he
said.
7 Dec 2004, Mail and Guardian
Anthrax Scare at South American Revenue Service
More than 60 people were rushed to hospital after an apparent anthrax scare at the South African Revenue Service building in Pietermaritzburg on Friday.
The five-story building was evacuated by emergency workers while the police and fire department closed off a block radius around the building.
Health department spokesperson Lindiwe Khuzwayo said the call came through just before 9am and that emergency rescue services were at the building within minutes.
"It is suspected that a parcel containing a powder-like substance with strong fumes was opened in the building," she said.
According to Netcare 911 paramedics, people were pouring out of the building, covering their faces and complaining of severe breathing problems.
"At the moment none of the patients shows signs or symptoms of anthrax contamination," Khuzwayo said.
Patients would
be treated and monitored until laboratory tests were concluded.
5 Dec 2004, The Independent
Explosions in Madrid After ETA Bomb Threat
Four explosions were reported at petrol stations in the Madrid area on Friday, Spanish radio stations said, following a phone warning in the name of the armed Basque separatist group ETA to a Basque newspaper.
The caller said five bombs had been left and were set to explode at 12:30 p.m. EST, Basque newspaper Gara reported on its Web site on Friday.
Radio stations later reported four explosions.
The blasts
were small and no casualties were reported, the reports on Radio
Ser and National Radio said.
3 Dec 2004, Reuters
“Glitter” Card Sparks Mail
Alert in UK
A school called in police when a 'suspicious' envelope containing powder arrived - and then discovered that it was a glittery Christmas invitation.
Three members of staff at Overmonnow Primary School in Monmouth, Wales, who had touched the envelope were advised to isolate themselves.
But the suspect package turned out to be an invitation from the town council to their Christmas lights switch-on.
Headteacher Huw Williams said the school had already had two incidents of vandalism and thought the letter was linked.
Mayor of Monmouth
Anthea Dewhurst said the invitation had been intended as a 'seasonal,
light-hearted message'.
2 Dec
2004, Birmingham Post
Animal Rights Activists Claim Victory in BOC Move
Animal rights activists were claiming a high-profile victory yesterday after BOC, Europe's second largest industrial gas group, severed its ties with Huntingdon Life Sciences, the animal-testing company.
BOC said selling gas to Huntingdon Life Sciences was not profitable when the cost of protecting itself from animal rights protesters was taken into consideration. "It was a commercial decision and our shareholders would expect no other," BOC said.
The move follows a campaign by Shac, the antivivisection group that is trying to close HLS, by getting suppliers and customers to stop dealing with the animal-testing company.
Brian Cass, managing director of HLS, said new legislation was a step in the right direction but more resources were needed to co-ordinate the fight against animal rights extremism.
"Other companies need to be able to feel they can do business with us and we are not living in a country where that is possible," he said. "The stark reality is that companies like BOC aren't guaranteed the security of their employees."
HLS said the gas contract had been profitable for BOC until it was directly targeted by Shac.
The campaigners have a habit of staying one step ahead of the law. BOC had won temporary injunctions under antiharassment laws against Shac, the Animal Rights Militia and the Animal Liberation Front - as well as some named individuals - earlier this year. These set up "exclusion zones" around corporate offices and homes of employees and sharply curtailed permitted protest activity.
But Shac simply changed its tactics, and began targeting Marks and Spencer, one of the biggest customers of BOC's logistics division and a far bigger client than HLS.
BOC told HLS earlier this year that it wanted to withdraw from the business as soon as the animal laboratory could become "self-sufficient" or find another source of gases.
The animal rights group was triumphant yesterday. "BOC have come to understand the lesson that many companies the world over have come to learn. You will never defeat Shac and you will never silence us."
Andrew Gay of HLS said the extremists' strategy of targeting a wide range of HLS's suppliers and customers, and even their suppliers' other customers, was making it difficult for police to take pre-emptive action.
But HLS profits were improving, he said. The US-listed shares have been one of the best performers in the medical sector this year, rising 440 per cent since April.
Mr Gay attributes the rising share price to the arrest in the US of "top activists" who were intimidating the company's market makers.
Despite reports that there were problems implementing the BOC injunction, there has been a trickle of companies seeking injunctions against animal rights campaigners under antiharassment laws over the past 18 months. Most of the applications have been handled by lawyers at London-based Lawson-Cruttenden & Co, although Masons, a much larger City firm, acted for BOC.
Today villagers
living around a guinea-pig farm at Newchurch, Staffordshire, which
animal rights campaigners claim is a supplier to HLS, will apply
for a High Court injunction.
2 Dec 2004, Financial Times
Anti-Defamation League Report Defines Ecoterrorism
Threat in U.S.
Terrorism in the name of animal and environmental protection is a growing concern for U.S. law enforcement. Radical environmental and animal rights groups have claimed responsibility for hundreds of crimes and acts of terrorism, including arson, bombings, vandalism and harassment.
A new report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) examines the threat currently posed by ecoterrorists, including the major organizations and individuals behind the trend. Ecoterrorism: Extremism in the Animal Rights and Environmental Movements, describes the motives, strategies and activities of this violent crusade, which federal authorities describe as the most active form of domestic terrorism in recent years. The report is the latest entry in the League's comprehensive online encyclopedia of extremist individuals, groups and movements in the United States, Extremism in America, available at http://www.adl.org/Extremism.
Usually operating in small, anonymous cells, members of extreme animal rights and environmental movements like the Earth Liberation Front, the Animal Liberation Front and Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty have committed dozens of arsons, bombings and other acts of destruction in recent years while largely evading arrest. Radical activists have caused more than $100 million of damage in the past decade.
1 Dec 2004
German Mail Bomber Blows Himself Up
A German man who had sent letter bombs to nine officials in the southern region of Bavaria has committed suicide, a day before he was set to undergo a police DNA test, police said on Saturday.
The 22-year-old blew himself up on Friday by detonating a gas bottle in a field near Hutthurm, a Bavarian town where investigators had been testing 2 300 residents for a possible link to the explosive packages.
Police had already carried out some 600 DNA tests when news surfaced of the man's death. DNA analysis revealed the young man, who was unemployed and lived on the family farm in Hutturm, to be the sender of the trapped letters.
The packages, which targeted regional officials of both the Christian Social Union (CSU) and Social Democrats (SDU) as well as the Polish consul in the city of Munich, between April and August this year.
All were detected before they could wreak any damage, except one which slightly injured a municipal worker in the southern town of Regen in August.
Police warned that the suspect could have sent more letters before committing suicide, advising officials to be on their guard in coming days.
27 Nov 2004,
SX Mail
100 Terror Attacks on Animal Lab Staff
by Animal Rights Activists in UK
Animal rights extremists have launched more than 100 terrifying attacks on the homes of laboratory workers this year, it emerged today.
In night-time raids, cars were smashed on driveways and Animal Liberation Front graffiti was daubed on front doors and walls.
The victims all worked for Huntingdon Life Sciences, the company at the centre of a four-year campaign of violence and intimidation.
The scale of the hate campaign was disclosed by HLS managing director Brian Cass as the Government unveiled proposals to curb extremists.
Mr Cass, who was beaten by three masked thugs with baseball bats three years ago, welcomed the moves but warned the clampdown would fail without extra money for policing.
He estimated between 100 and 150 HLS employees have been targeted in the past 12 months despite an injunction banning protests at their homes. He said: "The most harrowing part, and the activists know this, is when you take it to someone's home and family, particularly when there are young children involved."
The proposals include:
A ban on extremists causing harassment, alarm or distress at their targets' homes.
Powers for police to order protesters away from homes for up to three months.
Extension of anti-harassment laws to protect groups of employees from the same firm.
25 Nov 2004 Evening Standard
Bomb Factory Found in Pennsylvania Home
A 43-year-old township man was arrested Tuesday night when police discovered a cache of homemade bombs at his house in the 100 block of Myrtle Avenue, court records say.
Police responded to Ronald Vano's residence about 6 p.m. when he refused to leave after Barbara Ann Henk obtained a protection from abuse order against him, records say.
After township officers saw several homemade explosive devices and fuses on a desk in Vano's bedroom, they called in the Bethlehem Police Department bomb squad, records say.
With assistance from a bomb-sniffing dog, police searched the home and found hazardous liquid and powder compounds, fuels, fuses, switches, electrical wiring, ball bearings and other materials that could be used to make potentially deadly explosive devices, records say.
Police also found drug paraphernalia, records say. All of the items were stored in Vano's basement.
Court records did not specify Vano's relationship with Henk or Peter Vano, who was also listed on the protection order. Henk and Peter Vano also live at the Myrtle Avenue residence.
Ronald Vano is charged with criminal attempt to possess or manufacture weapons of mass destruction, causing or risking a catastrophe, two counts of reckless endangerment and possession of drug paraphernalia.
He was arraigned
before District Justice William F. Zaun and sent to Northampton
County Prison in lieu of $75,000 bail. A preliminary hearing for
Ronald Vano is scheduled 9 a.m. Dec. 3 before District Justice
Ralph W. Litzenberger.
25 Nov 2004, Express Times
Anthrax Scare Closes Tax Office in Florida
An anthrax scare in the Flagler County Tax Collector's office early Wednesday made for some tense moments.
But the substance -- described as a yellowish, white powder, turned out to be no threat to county employees, authorities said.
Tax Collector Suzette Pellicer discovered the substance while opening mail at the office in the Flagler County Courthouse at about 7:45 a.m.
After the Flagler County Sheriff's Office was called, the tax office was quarantined and a hazardous materials unit from St. Johns County was called in.
A sample of the powder was taken to the Florida Department of Health in Jacksonville for testing, Flagler County spokesman Carl Laudrie said.
While the tax office was sealed off, the rest of the courthouse was not evacuated.
Technicians were able to test the substance on the scene "and tell us right away if we had a problem," Laundrie said.
Employees
at the tax collector's office were sent home and the office was
closed for the rest of the day.
25 Nov
2004 Daytona Beach News Journal
Arrest Made in Michigan Social Security Office Anthrax Scare
A man from Holland is being held in the Ottawa County (MI) Jail facing serious charges. He's accused of sending a letter containing white powder to a Social Security Office in Holland.
Joel Zophy of Holland faces a federal charge of sending a threatening communication to federal employees by mail. Zophy sent similar letters to police and public officials in the past, but yesterday was the first time it escalated to a federal offense.
According to a federal affidavit, the office received a large envelope containing magazine clippings Monday morning, along with a smaller envelope with names of current and former federal officials written on it like a crossword puzzle. There was also repeated use of the word mole on the envelope, and white powder inside it.
Crews locked down the building; 13 employees and 10 customers forced to wait inside for more than four hours, each decontaminated before they could leave.
Chief Dan Henderson told FOX 17 News Tuesday afternoon, "It's much more important to take the time because again, if you make the wrong decision or make a mistake it can have pretty serious consequences."
Tuesday, the FBI said the white powder was harmless. As crews worked Monday, 55 year old Joel Zophy watched. Police approached him, and he claimed he'd found a bag of powder that he thought contained anthrax.
Zophy has
a history of contact with police. He used to live with his parents
on Myrtle Street in Holland. Neighbors didn't want to speak on
camera, but say he had a history of sending strange letters and
suffered from mental illness. Former neighbors on Myrtle Street
say Zophy moved to the Windscape Apartment Complex just a few
months ago. The federal affidavit says FBI agents found evidence
at Zophy's apartment connecting him to the mailing, including
an empty box of baking soda. The Social Security Office will likely
reopen Wednesday morning, around the same time Joel Zophy is scheduled
for an appearance in Federal Court. If convicted, Zophy could
get up to ten years in prison.
23 Nov 2004, WXMI News
Slovak Cabinet Ministers Targeted with
Powder Threats
A letter containing a suspect powder was opened at the office of Slovak Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan on Tuesday. This is the latest occasion on which a government minister has been targeted in this way.
Education Minister Martin Fronc was the second Cabinet minister to receive an envelope containing suspect powder on Tuesday. A similar letter was intercepted at the office of Foreign Affairs Minister Eduard Kukan. Both suspicious deliveries with unidentified white powder are being transported to Banska Bystrica, where the only laboratory able to perform tests for anthrax is located. The offender may face up to five years in prison if found guilty of these hoaxes, says Alena Tosevova of the Police Force Regional Directorate in Bratislava.
On Monday, Labour Minister Ludovit Kanik received a similar letter. Police were immediately called and barred anyone from entering or leaving the building. Minister Kanik was confined to his office while the building had been searched for other suspect substances.
In recent
weeks similar packages have been delivered to high profile targets,
including Premier Mikulas Dzurinda and Economy Minister Pavol
Rusko, but most have intercepted. All the letters have tested
negative for the presence of anthrax.
25 Nov 2004, Slovakia Daily Surveyor
Animal Rights Group Targets McDonalds
Members of a militant animal-rights group responsible for vandalizing fast-food restaurants across the country have attacked a McDonald's restaurant in Harbor Gateway, smashing windows and spray painting "McKiller" on walls, police said Tuesday.
Police said the weekend action appeared to be the latest committed by the Animal Liberation Front, deemed responsible for fires and vandalism at McDonald's, Arby's and other fast-food restaurants. The organization took credit for placing bombs at a Golden Arches in Chico last year.
"If there is evidence that these people are trying to change societal objectives by the use of force or violence or even property damage, that's our definition of terrorism," said Capt. Gary Williams, commander of the Los Angeles Police Department's Major Crimes Division, which was assigned the case.
The vandalism at the McDonald's at Carson Street and Denker Avenue occurred about 4:15 a.m. Saturday when the business was closed.
"They threw pieces of brick and concrete at the windows and the drive-through display menu, and they used paint and other markers to spray-paint a variety of messages on there," Los Angeles police Capt. Patrick Gannon said. "They used the initials ALF, which has been known as the Animal Liberation Front, on the exterior walls of the restaurant."
Vandals broke five windows and two glass doors on the west side of the restaurant, and four on the east side. They drew a line through the McDonald's emblem on a wall, Gannon said.
"They used a variety of terms," Gannon said. "They had ALF and 'Until the slaughter stops, neither will we,' 'Don't feed your kids McKiller.' "
"Stop McKiller" and "We won't sleep until the slaughter ends" also was sprayed on walls.
"They did a lot of it, on the doors, on the walls, all on the exterior of the building," Gannon said. "They pretty much tore up the place."
The graffiti was quickly covered with paint and cleaned from tile, and the restaurant stayed open. Several windows remained covered with plywood Tuesday.
ALF members could not be reached. An e-mail sent to a former spokesman for the group was not acknowledged. Phone numbers found on the Internet were disconnected.
According to the ALF's own Web site, the organization's members carry out "direct action against animal abuse in the form of rescuing animals and causing financial loss to animal exploiters, usually through the damage and destruction of property."
The ALF's long-term aim, the site said, is to end animal suffering by forcing "animal abuse companies" out of business.
"There are two reasons they are doing this," said David Martosko, research director for the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Consumer Freedom. "No. 1 is to scare people. In the purest sense of the word this is terrorism.
"The second reason is philosophical. Groups like this throughout history exist to make the more moderate organizations look reasonable. This is very calculated. They do this in order to make (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), the Humane Society and In Defense of Animals look perfectly ordinary and noncontroversial."
In May, John E. Lewis, deputy assistant director of the FBI's counterterrorism division, told the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee that ALF and the Earth Liberation Front, which also targets environmental issues, are domestic terrorist organizations.
"The FBI estimates that the ALF/ELF and related groups have committed more than 1,100 criminal acts in the United States since 1976, resulting in damages conservatively estimated at approximately $110 million," Lewis told the panel.
Lewis said that in recent years, the ALF and ELF "have become the most active criminal extremist elements in the United States," targeting food producers, biomedical researchers and law enforcement.
The ALF took responsibility Monday for a Nov. 14 attack at a University of Iowa building. Activists freed hundreds of lab animals and destroyed years of research.
A videotape sent to television stations showed people in black masks emptying dozens of cages.
The ALF has claimed credit since 1996 for attacks against McDonald's in Virginia, Oregon, Michigan, Utah, Georgia and New York.
On March 3, 2003, ALF activists sprayed "Meat is Murder" on a McDonald's in Chico, and left behind two bombs that failed to detonate.
A week later, a fire damaged a second McDonald's in the city.
"Any chain that sells meat is a target," Martosko said.
Representatives from McDonald's did not return a message taken at their media relations office in Oak Brook, Ill.
Authorities do not know why the Harbor Gateway restaurant became the target, but said the fact that it was closed, unlike other South Bay McDonald's that stay open 24 hours, made it more vulnerable to an attack.
25 Nov 2004, Daily Breeze
Man Drives Around With Pipe Bomb Found in Mailbox
A Williamson County man drove around for several days this week with a pipe bomb in his truck.
Police said the man found the device in his mailbox earlier this week and put it in his trunk.
A few days later, the decided to take the device to the police department station located in west Nashville.
The Metro Police Department’s bomb squad took the pipe bomb out into a field and separated the components. The bomb Squad decided it wasn't dangerous.
The case was
turned over to Williamson County. Federal Agents were also investigating.
19 Nov 2004, WTVF News
Animal Rights Extremist Tactics Examined
The tactics of a small hardcore of animal rights activists have brought them in confrontation with major corporations, scientific establishments and the government.
Some of their strategies have appalled many people, especially those who have been targeted. Whether people support them or not, it cannot be denied that their tactics have had an impact. So what have been the key elements of their approach?
THEY HAVE 'GOT SMART'
The campaign waged against Huntingdon Life Sciences, Europe's largest vivisection laboratory, has shown the increasingly sophisticated tactics of the animal rights movement.
The Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (Shac) campaign has focused on the suppliers. So far this year 80 companies have severed ties with Huntingdon because of pressure from animal rights campaigners and fear of bad publicity.
Greg Avery of the Shac campaign has found that many of the biggest companies can be persuaded very quickly and not because they care about animals.
"Businessmen don't care about ethics; all they care about is profit. They don't make ethical decisions; they make financial ones. So we turn it into a financial decision - we will hit you where it hurts and that's hitting you in the pocket."
THEY HAVE BECOME RELENTLESS
The key lesson that the animal rights movement has learnt is being relentless. Campaigners used to focus on a variety of local targets across Britain. But starting with the Consort kennels campaign, the movement has concentrated its fire on one national target.
Campaigner Greg Avery was involved with the Consort campaign and says: "We grabbed hold of those kennels and didn't let go. You don't pick a company unless you can close it down because otherwise you just make those companies stronger. So when they are chosen - they are finished."
THEY BELIEVE INTIMIDATION WORKS
For all of the sophistication of the movement they are well aware that if arguments and legal pressure fail there is always illegal intimidation. The Shac campaign says it is against all such tactics but some nasty things have happened to companies it has named and shamed on its website.
For instance, on 10 September 2004 fake bombs were planted under the cars of two directors of Northgate, a supplier to Huntingdon. Later that day, Northgate announced that it had terminated its business relationship with Huntingdon Life Sciences.
Companies connected to Huntingdon have this month alone been the subject of attacks, including damage to cars, homes being daubed with paint, and windows being smashed. One family which breeds animals for research has suffered a consistent campaign of harassment.
Shac has denied any involvement in these incidents and while these tactics are widely condemned, they nevertheless are successful in persuading companies to accede to the campaigners' demands.
The Home Office has funded a National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit within the Association of Chief Police Officers, which aims to share information across the country about the best ways of tackling illegal activities.
New laws to stop extremists protesting outside people's houses are also planned.
THEY HAVE 'GONE GLOBAL'
The British animal rights movement is the largest and the strongest in the world. Activists across the globe now look to the UK to learn how to campaign more effectively.
Patti Strand of the American Lobby group the National Animal Alliance believes the British have a lot to answer for.
"We view the United Kingdom as the Afghanistan for the growth of animal rights extremism throughout the world. The animal rights movement that we are dealing with in the United States is a direct import from the United Kingdom."
THEY HAVE PLANNED FOR THE FUTURE
Such is the confidence of the animal rights movement that they are already thinking about the future. Greg Avery of Shac has new targets in his sights.
"When Huntingdon closes we won't just go on to another company. We will go on to a whole area of animal abuse. And look to knock out big chunks - puppy farming, factory farming, circuses and zoos. All these could be finished. We're becoming bigger, even more intelligent and even more determined not just to take companies down but to finish whole areas of animal abuse."
Revered thinkers within the movement like Ronnie Lee, founder of the Animal Liberation Front, want to go much further than closing down zoos and circuses.
"To create a world that is fair to the other creatures on it we have to have some policy of reducing the human population so that would mean we would have to breed less."
How much less? Lee says a reduction in the British population from the current level of 60 million to just 6 million would be better for the animals. Lee is serious enough about reducing the population to have had a vasectomy.
His views aren't ones you'll hear at the stalls campaigning against animal cruelty all over Britain but what's clear is that animal rights activists won't be content with shutting down fur farms or animal testing labs.
Buoyed by
their success they want nothing less than to change the world.
18 Nov 2004, BBC News
Parcel Bombs Explode at Three Argentina
Banks
Bombs exploded at three banks in the Argentine capital on Wednesday, including two branches of U.S. giant Citibank, killing one security guard and injuring a bomb squad officer, officials said.
No group claimed responsibility for the bombs, none of which was big enough to cause major damage to the buildings.
"The government is asking people not to touch any packages and to call the police if they find them. Everything is being investigated," an Interior Ministry spokesman told Reuters.
It was the third attack this year on Argentine banks, which were widely blamed for contributing to the country's economic collapse in late 2001 and early 2002. Hundreds of depositors demanded compensation from the banks for lost savings.
The last time banks were targeted by small bombs was during the August visit of International Monetary Fund chief Rodrigo Rato. No one was injured in those incidents.
The first Citibank explosion killed a private security guard who picked up a bag with a bomb before the bank opened to the public. Another device was detonated by police.
Television showed shattered glass and blood stains at the site of the bombing in a middle-class neighborhood, several miles from downtown Buenos Aires.
At the second Citibank branch in a posh shopping area, police detonated two devices and a bomb squad officer was injured while protecting a woman who broke through the police cordon, federal police said.
Nearby, a third explosion hit Argentine bank Banco Galicia but a bank official said there were no injuries.
The blasts took place within around two hours of each other. One of the bombs detonated by police was described by witnesses as a steel tube with nails.
Federal Police reinforced security on banks throughout the city, a spokeswoman said.
Citigroup said it was "shocked and saddened" and was cooperating with the investigation, according to spokeswoman Lula Rodriguez in Miami.
In the wake of Argentina's economic collapse, many blamed both foreign and local banks for their country's woes, including a freeze on their savings. Banks put steel plates on their facades to protect them from protesters wielding pipes and throwing rocks.
But that ire had waned as the economy recovered and people got back the bulk of their money. Most banks had taken down their barriers and returned to normal operations.
Wednesday's
bombs coincided with the visits of two foreign heads of state
and a large foreign media presence. Chinese President Hu Jintao
was in Buenos Aires on a two-day state visit, while the king and
queen of Spain were attending a language conference in Rosario,
250 miles north of Buenos Aires.
17 Nov 2004, Reuters
Plans to Launch Terrorist Database
A new system with detailed historical information on terrorism could become the first stop for first responders and other government officials developing strategies to prevent incidents nationwide, experts said Wednesday.
The Terrorism Knowledge Base is the latest Web-based resource from the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, a nonprofit organization in Oklahoma City. The institute developed three solutions, which also include the Lessons Learned Information System and the Responder Knowledge Base, with funding from the Justice and Homeland Security departments.
This system provides open-source, unclassified information on international and domestic terrorism, pulling information from a database of terrorist incident information maintained since 1968 by Rand, nonprofit research organization. It also incorporates links to original court documents pertaining to suspected terrorists.
The institute's analysis tools collect this information and allow officials to compare and sort the information. A wizard tool takes users through a step-by-step process to find the information they want.
The Rand database had not been available to the public or much of government until now, and it provides information about groups, individuals, incidents, tactics and other issues that can provide critical context when developing a prevention and response strategy, said James Ellis, research and program coordinator for the project at the institute.
"A lot of people, when they're doing that kind of planning, they're always trying to think hypothetically, theoretically, what might terrorists do," Ellis said. "That's fine, but why don't we look at what they actually have done over the last several decades, and use that to be able to have real-world data to support them."
Using open-source terrorist information from public and private sources is one of the recommendations of the 9-11 Commission, said Lloyd Salvetti, a former officer with the CIA and a consultant to the commission. It is an important complimentary resource for the intelligence community and first responders, he said.
For first responders at the federal, state and local levels of government, the systems fill a void by providing information in a resource that even those who are not technology-savvy can use, said Suzanne Mencer, director of DHS' Office for Domestic Preparedness.
"Whenever
you can look at historically what has occurred in a particular
area, that gives you some indication of the potential for what
may occur in the future," she said. "This is an indicator,
... one tool in the toolbox for the investigator, for the academic,
or anyone that is in the decision-making process."
18 Nov 2004 Federal Computer Week
Suspicious Letter with Powder Found at Delaware Prison
The Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington was placed on lockdown this morning after a suspicious letter was found.
Delaware Department of Correction officials say the prison returned to normal operations at 2 p-m.
It was locked down at 10:20 a-m, with prisoners confined to their cells, after a suspicious envelope was discovered in an internal mailbox in the prison's administrative area.
The envelope contained a white powder with a pink tint. A threatening message was written on the envelope.
Officials
say it was determined that the suspicious substance wasn't hazardous
or dangerous. The powder hasn't been identified.
17 Nov 2004, AP
Threatening Letter, Suspicious Powder Found
At Law Firm
Hazmat crews responded to a powder scare at a prominent Des Moines law firm Tuesday afternoon.
Numerous fire and police officials were sent to 2910 Grand Ave., which is the Pa