英语高级视听说下册-unit-10(4)

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He told us that his cell has conducted operations from coast to coast, and every one of them was what he considered to be non-violent because nobody was injured. He said under the mask he is a normal, otherwise law-abiding citizen, and that his friends and family have no idea about his activities. He said he thinks it's "abysmal" that the FBI considers them America's top domestic terrorist threat, because unlike neo-Nazi groups, the ALF has never hurt anyone.

"Having the FBI chase you around is not a good thing," says John Lewis, a Deputy Assistant Director for Counterterrorism at the FBI. Lewis is the man charged with stamping out eco-terrorism in the United States.

Lewis says the bureau is aware of over 1,000 attacks and says these groups are considered such a threat is because they have caused over $100 million worth of damage nationwide. He says there are more than 150 investigations of eco-terrorist crimes underway.

He admits they're not in the same league as al Qaeda but he says they're ratcheting up their actions and turning up the rhetoric.

"There have been multiple statements made regarding assassination and/or killing of individuals involved in, for instance, biomedical research and that kind of thing," says Lewis.

Case in point is Dr. Jerry Vlasak, a practicing trauma surgeon in Los Angeles, who also acts as a spokesperson for several extreme animal rights groups. Vlasak has told audiences that it's time to consider assassinating people who do research on animals.

Vlasak has been quoted as saying 'I think for five lives, ten lives, 15 human lives, we could save a million, two million, ten million nonhuman lives.'

"I think people who torture innocent beings should be stopped. And if they won't stop when you ask them nicely, they won't stop when you demonstrate to them what they're doing is wrong, then they should be stopped using whatever means necessary," Vlasak replied.

Vlasak says he is not going to do that, pointing out he is a physician. "My role in the movement is not to go out and do that, but to explain to the mainstream media and to the public in general why these people are doing what they're doing."

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