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Tag: Terrorism

The Color Of Terrorism: Who Gets Charged And Why?
Two hijabi women hold signs expressing solidarity with the victims of the Charleston Shooting at a June 18, 2015 vigil in Washington, D.C. (Flickr / Stephen Melkisethian)
December 8, 2015
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The Color Of Terrorism: Who Gets Charged And Why?

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

What constitutes terrorism? Recent mass shootings in the United States, including those in San Bernardino, California, and Colorado Springs, have renewed a debate about how to define these disturbing and deadly incidents.

One part of the argument hinges on how journalists refer to these crimes in the media, with some, such as Jack Jenkins, arguing that Robert Louis Dear, the shooter who killed three people and wounded nine at a Planned Parenthood Clinic in November, is clearly a terrorist. By contrast, Kevin Gosztola observes that the term terrorism is essentially meaningless due to misuse.

Beyond how the media discusses mass killings, another factor is when and how courts decide to bring terrorism charges against a suspect. On Nov. 30, a Colorado court charged Dear with first-degree murder, but it could take weeks or months longer before Dear could face additional charges, including terrorism, amid an ongoing federal investigation. At the same time, the shooting in San Bernardino is already being treated as terrorism by federal investigators.

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No More Nice Canada: C-51 Anti-Terrorism Law A Sign Of A Growing Police State
At an April 18, 2015 protest against the C-51 anti-terrorism bill, activists carry banners including "Stop Bill C-51!" and "We Love This Coast!" (Flickr / Sally T. Buck)
October 5, 2015
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No More Nice Canada: C-51 Anti-Terrorism Law A Sign Of A Growing Police State

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

In the minds of many Americans, Canada represents a more liberal vision of a democratic society — a diverse society that hadn’t followed the United States down the path toward becoming a post-9/11 police state. But it may be following post-9/11 trends more closely than previously thought.

Indeed, American and Canadian leaders recently met to discuss deepening the integration between our countries’ respective militaries, and anti-terrorism legislation passed this year shows that Canada was taking notes from its neighbor to the south on how to use fear to justify a loss of freedoms.

C-51, the controversial anti-terrorism bill, became law in Canada in June, despite vocal opposition from civil liberties activists. It criminalizes speech which encourages terrorism, and also makes it a criminal offense to share terrorist propaganda. It also expands the government’s power to scrub information it deems to be propaganda from the Internet.

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Rumors Persist That The CIA Helps Export Opium From Afghanistan
U.S. Army Sfc. Scott Kehn of Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Parachute Infantry Division, conducts a patrol through poppy fields near Nalghan, Afghanistan, April 21, 2011. (Flickr / U.S. Army /Pfc. Justin A. Young)
September 19, 2015
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Rumors Persist That The CIA Helps Export Opium From Afghanistan

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Despite billions spent to eradicate opium crops in Afghanistan, the crop is more popular than ever there, leading many to wonder whether some U.S. forces may actually be encouraging its growth and the heroin it later becomes.

In July, the Centers for Disease Control warned of record-breaking numbers of heroin deaths in the United States. “Heroin use more than doubled among young adults ages 18–25 in the past decade,” the CDC reported.

In the same month, it was reported that opium production is stronger than ever in Afghanistan, which now produces 90 percent of the world’s supply of the plant that’s refined to create heroin. This rise in production would have been impossible prior to the U.S.-led invasion, and it comes despite some $8.4 billion spent in counternarcotics efforts by the U.S., specifically designated to wipe out opium production in Afghanistan.

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Islamophobia Rising: FBI Warns ‘Militia Extremists’ Are Targeting Muslims
A protester holds a "Sharia" sign at a rally against the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque," a proposed Islamic cultural center blocks away from the former World Trade Center site. August 22, 2010. (Flickr / David Shankbone)
September 1, 2015
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Islamophobia Rising: FBI Warns ‘Militia Extremists’ Are Targeting Muslims

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

While the mainstream media showers attention on any crime with even the slightest hint of a connection to ISIS or other Muslim extremists, less attention is being paid to a growing number of threats against everyday Muslims in the United States despite the FBI raising the alarm.

The FBI issued an intelligence bulletin in May, warning that “militia extremists” are increasing their violent rhetoric against Muslims and even potentially making concrete plans to target them for violence. “The FBI makes these assessments with high confidence on the basis of a large body of source reporting generated mainly since 2013,” noted the bulletin. This marks a change from the militia’s usual targets, the agency notes, which typically include the government and any group perceived as a threat to Second Amendment rights.

Few mainstream media journalists seem to have reported on this bulletin or the concrete threats that it outlines, but some members of the independent media have analyzed its contents. Writing for the Electronic Intifada, Rania Khalek, a journalist whose work focuses on the underclass and oppressed populations, highlighted one incident:

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