Oh wait ... Bloody Christians ...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,425697,00.html

<quotes>

FOUKE, Arkansas  -  Federal authorities conducting a child-porn
investigation raided the headquarters Saturday of a ministry run by a
convicted tax evader once labeled by prosecutors as a polygamist who preys
on girls and women.

Social workers interviewed children who live at the Tony Alamo Christian
Ministries complex, which critics call a cult, to find out whether they were
abused. The two-year investigation involves a law that prohibits the
transportation of children across state lines for criminal activity, said
Tom Browne, who runs the FBI office in Little Rock.

"Children living at the facility may have been sexually and physically
abused," Browne said.

No one was arrested, but U.S. Attorney Bob Balfe said before the raid that
he expected an arrest warrant for Alamo to be issued later. The federal
investigation centered on the production of child pornography, while state
police were looking into allegations of other child abuse, he said.

About 100 state and federal law officers raided the 15-acre compound housing
the ministry, which the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as a cult that
opposes homosexuality, Catholicism and the government. The law center
monitors the activities of extremist groups in the U.S.

</quotes>

Despite the allegations and insinuations such a raid brings, they're
innocent until proven guilty. Does "may have been sexually and physically
abused" justify a high-profile raid on this scale; is it not just a fishing
operation without any substantive evidence already ?

"The Happy Hippy"  wrote in message 
news:53tBk.60944$E41.10742@text.news.virginmedia.com...
> Oh wait ... Bloody Christians ...
>
> http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,425697,00.html
>
> <quotes>
>
> FOUKE, Arkansas  -  Federal authorities conducting a child-porn
> investigation raided the headquarters Saturday of a ministry run by a
> convicted tax evader once labeled by prosecutors as a polygamist who preys
> on girls and women.
>
> Social workers interviewed children who live at the Tony Alamo Christian
> Ministries complex, which critics call a cult, to find out whether they 
> were
> abused. The two-year investigation involves a law that prohibits the
> transportation of children across state lines for criminal activity, said
> Tom Browne, who runs the FBI office in Little Rock.
>
> "Children living at the facility may have been sexually and physically
> abused," Browne said.
>
> No one was arrested, but U.S. Attorney Bob Balfe said before the raid that
> he expected an arrest warrant for Alamo to be issued later. The federal
> investigation centered on the production of child pornography, while state
> police were looking into allegations of other child abuse, he said.
>
> About 100 state and federal law officers raided the 15-acre compound 
> housing
> the ministry, which the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as a cult 
> that
> opposes homosexuality, Catholicism and the government. The law center
> monitors the activities of extremist groups in the U.S.
>
> </quotes>
>
> Despite the allegations and insinuations such a raid brings, they're
> innocent until proven guilty. Does "may have been sexually and physically
> abused" justify a high-profile raid on this scale; is it not just a 
> fishing
> operation without any substantive evidence already ?
>
>

Children usually seem to be the alibi when the government wants to go for 
cults.

I'd wait for them to prove this one before I got any torches and pitchforks. 
The last time they carted off some cultist's kids they had to give them 
back.

TWP

"TWP"  wrote ...

> "The Happy Hippy"  wrote in message
> news:53tBk.60944$E41.10742@text.news.virginmedia.com...
> > Oh wait ... Bloody Christians ...
> >
> > http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,425697,00.html
> >
> > <quotes>
> >
> > FOUKE, Arkansas  -  Federal authorities conducting a child-porn
> > investigation raided the headquarters Saturday of a ministry run by a
> > convicted tax evader once labeled by prosecutors as a polygamist who
preys
> > on girls and women.
> >
> > Social workers interviewed children who live at the Tony Alamo Christian
> > Ministries complex, which critics call a cult, to find out whether they
> > were
> > abused. The two-year investigation involves a law that prohibits the
> > transportation of children across state lines for criminal activity,
said
> > Tom Browne, who runs the FBI office in Little Rock.
> >
> > "Children living at the facility may have been sexually and physically
> > abused," Browne said.
> >
> > No one was arrested, but U.S. Attorney Bob Balfe said before the raid
that
> > he expected an arrest warrant for Alamo to be issued later. The federal
> > investigation centered on the production of child pornography, while
state
> > police were looking into allegations of other child abuse, he said.
> >
> > About 100 state and federal law officers raided the 15-acre compound
> > housing
> > the ministry, which the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as a cult
> > that
> > opposes homosexuality, Catholicism and the government. The law center
> > monitors the activities of extremist groups in the U.S.
> >
> > </quotes>
> >
> > Despite the allegations and insinuations such a raid brings, they're
> > innocent until proven guilty. Does "may have been sexually and
physically
> > abused" justify a high-profile raid on this scale; is it not just a
> > fishing
> > operation without any substantive evidence already ?
> >
> >
>
> Children usually seem to be the alibi when the government wants to go for
> cults.
>
> I'd wait for them to prove this one before I got any torches and
pitchforks.
> The last time they carted off some cultist's kids they had to give them
> back.

There seems to be a lot of this pre-emptive action taking place in America
( and of course undertaken by Americans outside America ) and all based on
some paranoia that something bad may be happening but with almost no
evidence that it is. Anything which isn't considered 'the norm' is
considered suspicious. Phantoms everywhere.

"The Happy Hippy"  wrote in message 
news:53tBk.60944$E41.10742@text.news.virginmedia.com...
> Oh wait ... Bloody Christians ...
>
> http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,425697,00.html
>
> <quotes>
>
> FOUKE, Arkansas  -  Federal authorities conducting a child-porn
> investigation raided the headquarters Saturday of a ministry run by a
> convicted tax evader once labeled by prosecutors as a polygamist who preys
> on girls and women.
<snip>
> "Children living at the facility may have been sexually and physically
> abused," Browne said.

> No one was arrested, but U.S. Attorney Bob Balfe said before the raid that
> he expected an arrest warrant for Alamo to be issued later.

What???   Arrest warrant??  Why are American authorities so inconsistent in 
their war on crime?

Surely, once they had reason to believe that children were being "sexually" 
or "physically" abused, all they had to do was call in an air strike and 
take out the building in which Mr. Alamo was "hiding" - preferably when he 
was not in the same building as the children allegedly possibly being 
abused.

Naturally any collateral civilian casualties would have at first to be 
denied, and then described as "regretable" but dismissed as civilian 
associates of Mr. Alamo.

<snip>
> About 100 state and federal law officers raided the 15-acre compound 
> housing
> the ministry, which the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as a cult 
> that
> opposes homosexuality, Catholicism and the government. The law center
> monitors the activities of extremist groups in the U.S.

A couple of Drones, or at most a couple of F16's or whatever, would have 
been far easier LOL !

> </quotes>
>
> Despite the allegations and insinuations such a raid brings, they're
> innocent until proven guilty. Does "may have been sexually and physically
> abused" justify a high-profile raid on this scale; is it not just a 
> fishing
> operation without any substantive evidence already ?

Not really.   If they have reason to believe children are being abused 
there, then they needed to be taken to a place of safety and interviewed. 
Bearing in mind the "ministry" occupies a 15 acre site, then 100 officers is 
not unreasonable to prevent potential suspects from fleeing the scene.