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Loading ...Seattle gay bars threatened with ricin attacks
01.07.2009 9:39am EST
(Seattle, Washington) Seattle police say they are taking seriously threats of ricin attacks on 11 gay bars in the city.
The threats were made in letters received by the bars on Tuesday and have been turned over to police. Seattle weekly newspaper The Stranger received a 12th letter saying it should be “prepared to announce the deaths of approximately 55 individuals.”Seattle police forensics investigators are examining the letters and the FBI and Homeland Security have been notified.
Ricin is a poison found naturally in castor beans. It can be in the form of a powder, a mist, or a pellet, or it can be dissolved in water or weak acid.
If made into a partially purified material or refined into a terrorist or warfare agent, ricin could be used to expose people through the air, food, or water.
In the 1940s, the U.S. military experimented with using ricin as a possible warfare agent. In some reports, ricin has possibly been used as a warfare agent in the 1980s in Iraq and more recently by terrorist organizations.
“We are actively investigating and coordinating with the FBI and other federal partners,” Seattle police said in a statement. “We encourage the community to be alert for suspicious activity and call that activity in to 911 immediately.”
The letters make no mention of a reason for targeting the gay bars and were not signed.
“I have in my possession approximately 67 grams of ricin with which I will indiscriminately target at least five of your clients,” the letters said. “I expect them to die painfully while in the hospital.”
Police said that if the sender is found he or she will face hate crime charges. Federal terrorism charges also are possible.
I’m certain that this terrorist just has a different opinion on social issues. It’s important that we bring him/her to the table and share these ideas and toxins.
On the positive side the gay community in Seattle is rallying together, organizing pub crawls to support the bars and getting out information about the treat via networking. I think it is important to let people know that we will no longer live our lives in fear or hide!
Maybe Obama will give him a place at the inaugural table. After all, our next Bigot-in-Chief is the “inclusive” one. His chum, the arch-scumbag Rick Warren and his ilk, would like nothing more than to destroy us to by reducing us to sub-human trash which they can spit on and kick in the guts with impunity. Terrorism comes in many forms.
To murder another person’s spirit; to attack another person’s family for simply existing, and to destroy their security and their freedom is a slower and more painful death, it seems to me, than many other kinds of terrorist attacks. But that is the perpetual state of our existence in USA, we, the GLBT community, have been under unrelenting terrorist attacks for nearly the last four hundred years in this country — from colonial days to the present.
There have never been a shortage of people in the US who desire to destroy GLBT citizens. Some want to do it quickly with direct violence against one or a few at a time. Others, like Warren and millions of other assassins like him, exploit mindless fears and pervert the law as their weapons of mass destruction — thereby reaping a higher body count of ruined lives.
Who is really more dangerous?
Sadly, I don’t think the so-called “news” media could give a crap either. At the most, the coverage of the mass murder of gays might just receive perhaps a few words in the moving scroll at the bottom of the tv screen during a newscast.
The captions might read:
“Dozens of homosexuals die in ricin attack…FBI may investigate…Congress to look into deaths perhaps next term after addressing the Economy… (JUST IN) Brittany Spears accidentally suffocates pet poodle in handbag…Congress to hold hearings on Animal Abuse…New laws are expected to require breathing holes in large purses for pets; millions nationwide voice their concern…(Update) Another twelve die in ricin attack in homosexual bars; FBI now says it is a local matter…With no federal Hate Crime, Congress says its hands are tied…(Update)… Due to a flood of public outrage, Congress meets in emergency session and passes new laws to require breathing holes in large handbags for small pets…”
It is nothing to joke about, but that is exactly how most people in America treat our lives — either as a big joke or some dangerous vermin infestation to be stomped out. The third kind of reaction to us I sometimes think is even more pernicious — that is, Obama’s attitude: “Ignore them and maybe they will just go away.”
…You get the picture.
~ Bud Evans
http://rainfish2000.blogspot.com
This is very sad to hear. This is going beyond just regular dislike or nonacceptance; this is a terrorist attack. This is heartbreaking. We are entering the LGBT revolution and we this will be the hardest fight of our lives.
I think there is an actual self loather here.
Matthew, well said, I totally concur. I received one of those mass emails from Michelle Obama this week asking for a small donation. The gall of the Obamas asking me for more money after the hundreds I gave for the campaign and the selection of Rick Warren for the invocation is insulting and offensive to say the least. I’m funding no more democrats until they’ve earned my vote, Obama included.
Hate speech has consequences.
While kraven konservative kristianist kultist krazies (KKKKK for short) and extremist Jews and extremist Islamists will hike up their holy skirts in horror and wash their hands (Pilate-like) loudly proclaiming that they had nothing to do with this,
THEY LIE.
By definition, their followers are poor and ill-educated. They HUNGER for *someone* to blame for their station in life. That’s how the Holocaust *started*. The Jews (who should in consequence KNOW better) were the scapegoats then; GLBTQA people and “secular humanists” and “cultural elitists” and “liberals” are the scapegoats now.
Grass won’t grow where we walk. We have been blamed for everything from 9/11 to hurricanes to the financial meltdown to the war in Gaza (!).
And it was the brain-dead preachers of the Reich Wing who did the blaming.
World domination? Sorry, not today, sweetie … I have to get my hair done (chuckle).
Cheers,
Bud Burgoon-Clark
happily recovering Christian
happily gay
happily married to my HUSBAND
no thanks to the KKKKK
(see above)
This is insane!!
The common problem throughout history is that liberals speak quietly with reason and conservatives (aka religious zealots, typically) resort to violence because so little of their bizarre position can be reasoned. Religion historically has so little basis in fact that ignorance and fear is the only real power they have ever had. Heaven knows their politically created deities cannot act on their own behalf or they could leave it to them.
We have far more on our side with facts, science, history, and reason. They rely on the ignorance of the masses to continue the massive hoax of religion when the facts of their own flawed histories are readily available and disprove their positions utterly.
I also always find when listening to religious zealots, Warren included, they always bring up the part about “resisting urges” (as if Jesus ever did, LOL, study more history if you doubt that comment). Not that all urges are good or that being a slut is my idea of a healthy lifestyle. But it often seems they are really fighting to justify the lives they have chosen instead of having had the courage to live the truth. Reaching out does not work all that well as most trained clergy already know what lies they are telling. You cannot reason with people who already know they are lying and making a huge profit on their lies. All you can do is defend yourself and make the truth available to those who will have the strength of mind and character to decide for themselves. Their self and truth denying behavior breeds violence, inside and out. It also breeds the behavior they say they abhor (I wonder how long before Warren gets caught with his pants down like so many others of his ilk).
The sad reality though is that violence often works on humans, without stonewall where would we be now? Reason is always preferred and is the natural inclination of those whose actions are based in fact, but we also have to defend ourselves.
One of the best ways to do that is never give the damn politicians a moments peace until they start really enforcing the separation of church and state, the best road to victory in my humble opinion. In the end freedom from religion is a faster way to gay rights than gay rights. Religion will always be searching for it’s next victim to motivate their cash flow. Religion has done far too much damage to the world, and not just to gay people. For myself I was going to donate money to Obama and the DNC, but instead I think all this nonsense from all directions is inspiring me to send a check to the Freedom From Religion Foundation instead.
Amen is right. I’m sick of these blame the gays first for prop h8 or any other evil that befalls us as a result of the religious bigots and homophobes. These people who profess to speak on our behalf ought be removed from the public square. Let’s ride them outa town on a goddamn rail. It starts small. They have infected many, many local and state gay rights advocacy groups, and hold key positions within them. Make your dissatisfaction KNOWN or these human barriers shall remain in the way. The biggest problem is finding suitable replacements and those who can find the time to do it.
As to this, I read the threat on the stranger’s website yesterday. Very sick degenerate scumbag, and hopefully if the FBI gets involved, this vile piggy will get caught and punished to the fullest extent of the law (which he won’t because it’s gay bars). I hope that people continue to show their support by going out in droves and abiding by the warnings to watch over their drinks and not accept drinks from strangers.
How utterly detestable!
And to think mental-cases like this actually believe WE pose the real major threat to society!
Amen, Tiger! I for one am sick of hearing how we have to “reach out” and convince people that we’re really nice, normal people and not a bunch of child-molesting, pig-*uckers. You can’t reason with the righteousness of the religiously intolerant. And yea, I’m guessing it was some crazed Jesus freak who thinks he’s doing the world a favor. Don’t most terrorists have a religious agenda, no matter who they call god?
Part sarcasm, part disgust with the attitude some have that many of our woes are our own fault for not providing more outreach to those who hate us.
And so the war begins…..
Tiger, I do hope that comment about reaching out was sarcasm.
And the war escalates. Now they are planning terrorist attacks against us, but you can bet this is the direct result of our not reaching out more to the insane poisoner’s community.