ELF Member gets 5 years.

[Roadtoad]

Student Convicted of Torching SUVs

LOS ANGELES - A graduate student was convicted Friday of setting fire to dozens of sport utility vehicles in an attack by radical environmentalists that caused $2.3 million in damage.

William Jensen Cottrell, 24, was found guilty of conspiracy and arson. The jury acquitted him of a more serious charge of attempting to use a destructive device — Molotov cocktails. That charge carried at least 30 years in prison.

He could get at least five years behind bars at sentencing March 12.

Cottrell, a doctoral candidate at the California Institute of Technology, was charged in a 2003 firebombing and vandalism spree at auto dealerships and homes in the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles.

About 125 vehicles were damaged or destroyed. The vandals spray-painted polluter" and "smog machine" on some vehicles, along with "ELF," for the radical environmental group Earth Liberation Front.

-----

Seems to be a pretty light sentence. Any thoughts?

[roger]

thought 1: fairly light sentence.

thought 2: How incredibly stupid. Now those people are going to collect on their insurance, and go buy a new SUV, causing more destruction to the planet than previously (due to the waste of the destroyed one).

[WildCat]

He hasn't been sentenced yet! :confused:

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Originally posted by roger
thought 1: fairly light sentence.

thought 2: How incredibly stupid. Now those people are going to collect on their insurance, and go buy a new SUV, causing more destruction to the planet than previously (due to the waste of the destroyed one).

No one ever accused these ELF people of being geniuses.

[Pescado]

My only question is: what subject was he studying as a grad student?

Anybody want to start taking bets? Was it Humanities? Or was it "Cultural anthropology"? Or something else?

Place your guess here. What was his field of study?

[Mycroft]

Originally posted by Roadtoad
ELF Member gets 5 years.

So close to Christmas?!!!

Originally posted by Roadtoad
About 125 vehicles were damaged or destroyed. The vandals spray-painted polluter" and "smog machine" on some vehicles, along with "ELF," for the radical environmental group Earth Liberation Front.


Oh, never mind.

Originally posted by Roadtoad
Seems to be a pretty light sentence. Any thoughts?

Yeah, it seems that way to me too. I don’t think we take ideologically inspired crimes very seriously unless someone gets killed.

[T'ai Chi]

Physics.

[Pescado]

Originally posted by jzs
Physics.

Cheater. You were supposed to guess before Googling.

In any case, yes, he was a physics grad student. Supposedly majored in both math and physics at the University of Chicago to get his bachelor's degree. Not what I would've stereotypically expected from somebody who would do something like this. Go figure.

In an article written at the time of the investigation, a biology grad student at Cottrell's school had this to say, "the investigation, in light of our current government in Washington has led to a situation where it's difficult to feel that you can articulate your political views." I got a chuckle out of that.

[Art Vandelay]

Wasn't the Unabomer a Physics major?

[T'ai Chi]

Originally posted by Art Vandelay
Wasn't the Unabomer a Physics major?

Ph.D in Mathematics.

[Dorian Gray]

What's ironic is that the burning SUV tires probably caused a great deal of harm to our environment. Also ironic is that he used molotovs - gasoline-filled bottles with a rag in them - when he should have used fallen dead branches and leaves collected in a hemp bag. Also ironic is the ostensible method of travel he used to get from one dealership to another - I am betting it wasn't a bicycle.

Oh, the irony.

[jj]

Is it a light sentence? I don't know. What does manslaughter get these days in the same state?

The guy reaped at least a portion of what he deserved, but then again, what is the average sentence for manslaughter?

What's worth more, a person or a car, I wonder?

[Ed]

Originally posted by roger
thought 1: fairly light sentence.

thought 2: How incredibly stupid. Now those people are going to collect on their insurance, and go buy a new SUV, causing more destruction to the planet than previously (due to the waste of the destroyed one).

Thought 3: If you pay for car insurance, you are paying for his destruction.

[shuize]

Thought 4.

I wonder if the other fellas will be impressed with his silly political agenda in prison.

Bubba: What are you in for, little boy?

Cottrell: Trying to save mother nature.

Bubba: How nice. Now pick up that soap.

[Rob Lister]

Originally posted by shuize
Thought 4.

I wonder if the other fellas will be impressed with his silly political agenda in prison.

Bubba: What are you in for, little boy?

Cottrell: Trying to save mother nature.

Bubba: How nice. Now pick up that soap.


It struck me that way as well. Perhaps five years is enough.

William Jensen Cottrell, 24,...
...Cottrell, a doctoral candidate ...


He should be pretty popular.

[Ed]

http://media.mnginteractive.com/media/paper203/Jensen_150.jpg

Her new name is "Suzy".

I wonder if there is a civil suit brewing. They could garnish his wages like forever. That would be pretty funny, him underwriting Insurance companies that underwrite auto insurance.

[Ed]

This
http://www.facua.org/cineypublicidad/fotos/rambo.jpg

to this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/Incitatus/omg.bmp

Thanks to Randy who is a hell of a good sport!
http://www.pixyland.org/peterpan/

[Number Six]

Here's another thing I don't get about the anti-SUV stuff, and maybe it's just because I'm missing something. Isn't a major portion of how much you pollute not just due to the kind of car you drive but also how much you drive? I drive about 2.5 K per year. It happens that I have a gas efficient car but suppose for a minute I had an SUV. Wouldn't I be polluting less than someone with a regular car that drive 15 K per year? And unless the person that torches my SUV follows me around for a few months first, he has no idea how much I drive.

If they wanted to protest car pollution you'd think a better way would be to complain about sprawl and how cities and suburbs are set up in a way such that lots of people have no choice but to drive a lot.

[WildCat]

He hasn't been sentenced yet folks!!

News story: (http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/11/20/girls_outperform_boys_in_reading_and_writing/)
He could get at least five years behind bars at sentencing March 12.
He could get more, he could get less. But no more griping about the light sentence until he actually gets sentenced, m'kay?

[peptoabysmal]

Originally posted by Number Six
Here's another thing I don't get about the anti-SUV stuff, and maybe it's just because I'm missing something. Isn't a major portion of how much you pollute not just due to the kind of car you drive but also how much you drive? I drive about 2.5 K per year. It happens that I have a gas efficient car but suppose for a minute I had an SUV. Wouldn't I be polluting less than someone with a regular car that drive 15 K per year? And unless the person that torches my SUV follows me around for a few months first, he has no idea how much I drive.

If they wanted to protest car pollution you'd think a better way would be to complain about sprawl and how cities and suburbs are set up in a way such that lots of people have no choice but to drive a lot.

The irrational hatred of SUV's isn't motivated by environmental concerns. SUV's have become a symbol of that which these folks really hate: affluence.

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Originally posted by jj

What's worth more, a person or a car, I wonder?

In this case, the car is worth more.

[Beerina]

Originally posted by Pescado
Cheater. You were supposed to guess before Googling.

In any case, yes, he was a physics grad student. Supposedly majored in both math and physics at the University of Chicago to get his bachelor's degree. Not what I would've stereotypically expected from somebody who would do something like this. Go figure.

Math PhD Unabomber, anyone? Anyone? :)

[Pescado]

Originally posted by Beerina
Math PhD Unabomber, anyone? Anyone? :)

I would argue that the Unabomber's actions and the SUVabomber's actions were fundamentally different. That was the impression I got, in any case. The former targets specific people with bombs, writes lengthy manifestos and calls for an end to technology. The other catches SUVs on fire and writes some graffiti on the wall. The latter seems much more juvenile and much more "university student" to me. They may appear to share common goals on the surface, but the actions were much different, in my opinion.

[Tmy]

They shoudl let him go! After all we need the jail space for pot dealers and young black men.

[Roadtoad]

Originally posted by Tmy
They shoudl let him go! After all we need the jail space for pot dealers and young black men.

Yeah, the REAL danger to society...!:D

You know, what truly bothers me about this is that much of what the ELF is claiming it supports is honorable. I'm all for using less, conserving what we have, seeking alternative fuel sources, and even those energy sources that are non polluting.

But they're forcing people to dig in their heels and resist with crap like this. If you want to convert people, it makes more sense to show them something that works; proof before purchase. At that point, you can really make some inroads. (Did these guys miss the impact hybrids are having?)

[CapelDodger]

Originally posted by Roadtoad
Student Convicted of Torching SUVs

....

He could get at least five years behind bars at sentencing March 12.
"Could get at least ..." :( Frickin' journalists. What is that supposed to mean? "Could get at most" I can parse, "Will get at least" ditto, but WTF? And most of them call themselves "writers"! :mad: Why not "Will get up to 5000 years"?

That aside, I'd have thought keying SUV's would have been a better tactic than arson. If you're not going to get into tilt-switches and 50g of Semtex, the annoyance effect is what you're aiming for. This smells of attention-seeking (and some form of accelerant, obviously).

[Art Vandelay]

Originally posted by CapelDodger
"Could get at least ..." :( Frickin' journalists. What is that supposed to mean? "Could get at most" I can parse, "Will get at least" ditto, but WTF? And most of them call themselves "writers"! :mad: Why not "Will get up to 5000 years"?
I don't think that's quite as bad as the ads with such phrases as "Save up to 50%... or more!"

Originally posted by Roadtoad
You know, what truly bothers me about this is that much of what the ELF is claiming it supports is honorable.
Except that any good that they advocate is overshadowed by their most important piece of doctrine: that they have the right to unilaterally decide how much environmental impact, and of what sort, is allowed. I disagree with a lot of environmentalism, but I support people's right to advocate it. I don't think, however, that any level of environmental impact justifies terrorism. They are no better than people who bomb abortion clinics or beat up homosexuals. It's the same basic mindset.

PS The original term was "UNABOM", which turned into "Unabomer", but it appears that this has almost universally turned into "Unabomber".

[HarryKeogh]

Originally posted by peptoabysmal
The irrational hatred of SUV's isn't motivated by environmental concerns. SUV's have become a symbol of that which these folks really hate: affluence.

what I hate about SUVs is the fact that most people are lousy drivers to begin with. Put them in an SUV the size of a delivery van and they don't get better.

other than that I see a single man cruising, alone, up and down the neighborhood in an H2 Hummer as being perfectly sensible.

(and I don't think it has anything to do with affluence, I'm sure most of these people are financing these SUVs up the arse to keep up with the Joneses. But hey, it's their money...go nuts. I prefer to have a positive net worth)