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Bioterrorism Charges Brought Against Professor
gnetwerker writes "Wired
and others are reporting about artist Steve Kurtz, professor at Univesity of Buffalo (NY), and member of the
Critical Art Ensemble will face a Grand Jury in two weeks on bioterrorism charges over artwork that used samples of harmless bacteria to make a statement about genetic engineering and food safety. He is charged with BioTerrorism under Section 817 of the PATRIOT Act. Apparently
John Ashcroft can't tell a weapons lab from an art installation. There is more info and a
Defense Fund on the CAE Defense Fund Site."
"Deconstructing and disrupting the growth of genetically modified foods" might be done as a piece of performance art, but it's still vandalism and destuction of somebody else's property.
I don't care if these people's intent is to improve the American government by teaching it something the hard way and to do their best not to harm anybody seriously in the process. They're still practicing terrorism in that releasing something genetically modified into the environment is likely to cause a scare even if it's found to be harmless later. And, in a worst case, these guys could botch it all up and cause the kind of environmental harm that they're so scared Monsanto will cause.
At least Monsanto does its best to follow the laws... these people seem to have no respect for the law at all.
>>>> This man is an activist! What the hell is our government smoking?
So, If Osama started out as an activist who performed some unusual activites, played with biologicals and chemical "art" and we sat and waited for 911 - you would say what? That we sat on our hands to long?
You know, times HAVE changed. If you want to sit in your house and wait for the next activist (Okalahoma City) to go looney - that is of course you right. However - I'd rather be proactive than reactive. This man will have his day in court and may or may not be found guilty.
Tell me, when you buy a car - do you err on its safety record or its price?
Begun the witch trials have.
"I would give my right hand to be ambidextrous."
Hes a genetically modified alien by the Greys, he is an alien, and he has no ass, coz he shits from his mouth green turd.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
Besides why is the FBI involved?
The whole thing is a stage to make kids and terrorist wannabes think twice. I mean, after this, would _you_ be more or less likely to put a piece of bacterial art on display (harmless or otherwise)? For most, I expect, this is a deterrent. The population is being scared into a hole as usual. Soon some common criminals will be branded terrorist, gagged using the right-deminishing legislation and crime levels will plummet. w00t.
The PATRIOT act part comes from the fact that this is a Michael article.
The only surprising part is it's not somehow contrived as a YRO topic.
resigned
All you conservative-types who are in favour of stripping liberty at the expense of "security" and "war" on terrorism should re-consider your positions. This latest example is nothing more than the future. As long as you conservatives (and clueless liberals) keep supporting things like this, it is only the beginning.
I guess people who were laughing at others over the concern of things like the Patriot Act hope learned a lesson...
Sivaram Velauthapillai
Seeking the meaning of life... @slashdot of all places