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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Nuclear Waste Train=More Surveillance In Chicago? |
Current rating: 0 |
by Mike Lehman, U-C IMC
(No verified email address) |
08 Aug 2001
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The equation of protest with terrorism is particularly disturbing and chilling when practised by a public official. |
Urbana, IL-August 8, 2001
The local dominant media paper, the Champaign News-Gazette, published an article today about the upcoming train shipment of nuclear waste across Illinois and a number of other states in its journey from New York to Idaho. The train will traverse Illinois on the tracks of the Norfolk Southern RR, passing through such local towns as Philo and Tolono, in southern Champaign County. Protected by armed guards, authorities have been tight-lipped about the exact timing of the move, saying only that it will occur between now and late September. The claimed reason for all the security became clear towards the end of the article.
After describing a number of scenarios that could threaten the train and its cargo, Rich Allen, manager of the Office of Environmental Safety for the Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety, claimed that authorities worried most about "protesters." He implied that they might wish to commit suicide in front of the train, but failed to explain how the body of a hypothetically suicidal protester could threaten a train that weighs hundreds of tons.
The main thrust of official comment seemed to be the demonization of protesters, while offering the public no new information except that, while safety was a concern, it would be unlikely that an evacuation would be required in the event of an accident involving the train carrying highly radioactive waste.
Allen then claimed that authorities were, in the words of the story, "keeping a wary eye on a protester’s camp scheduled in Chicago in the next few weeks." This is particularly interesting in that surveillance of political activists has been constrained in Chicago in the past by a federal court decision.
The article finished by quoting Allen again. "The FBI and the Department of Energy take the security of these shipments very seriously." Making a final stab at tying legitimate protest and terrorism together, he stated, "They [the FBI and DOE] know who is who in activist land and terrorist land. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had their eyes on this group as well." |
See also:
http://www.newsgazette.com/story.cfm?Number=9887
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Some Comments From Gloabl IMC On This Story |
by Mike Lehman
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
10 Aug 2001
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Justified in this case (english)
by Malcolm King
2:10pm Thu Aug 9 '01
Look, nobody wants some whack job to derail a train full of nuclear waste. In this case, surveillance is justified.
The solution here is to work toward a day when no more of this radioactive poison is produced, period.
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when no more . . . is produced (english)
by nessie
6:57pm Thu Aug 9 '01
We'll still have to deal for centuries with what's already here.
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Think Again About Justifying Surveillance (english)
by Mike Lehman
8:55am Fri Aug 10 '01
Malcolm, I'm not sure if you thought your response through very well. I agree that the train needs security, which it will have in abundance between armed guards and emergency services people following its every move. The railroad will no doubt be checking the track carefully before the train passes over the line. It is highly unlikely that anyone will be in a position to purposely derail the train.
I find it ridiculous that this should be an excuse for surveillance of groups seeking to protest passage of the train, which is a totally legitimate right and a separate issue form the security of the train itself. The desire of the authorities to keep the train's movement secret is a ridiculous pipedream. As soon as it starts moving, the news will be all over the Internet.
What is going on is that the authorities wish to make legitimate protests as difficult as possible in order to preserve the illusion that the movement of radioactive materials should be willingly accepted by the public, along with the assurances of the authorities that there is nothing for the public to concern itself about. Secret government acting in secret is not justified under this circumstance. It's all about the nuclear industry wanting the public to have warm, fuzzy feelings about how good nuclear power is for you, whether you like it or not.
If there is some evidence that a crime will be committed, that would justify the police investigating the particular persons involved, but this does NOT justify the routine surveillance of groups that want to protest the train. Either we live in a free country, like is often asserted by right-wing barflies, or we live in a police state where mere suspicion brings one under surveillance at the whim of the authorities. Are you justifying a police state with your comment? I hope not.
Finally, the authorities want to paint any protesters as would-be terrorists, which is clear from the comments of Mr. Allen. I guess you buy into his point of view. I think we here at the IMC categorically reject that notion.
Protest is NOT terrorism, however convenient such an equation is for the purposes of the authorities to use in suppressing protest of the train’s passage.
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See also:
http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=58138&group=webcast
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