Day: June 23, 2002

Bloggers vs. Big Media

This is just pathetic. LA Times staff writer Tim Rutten wrote a column which complains that weblogs are factually challenged. According to Rutten,

Wednesday, for instance, Kaus posted an item on his personal site (www.kausfiles.com) praising former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee for allowing reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein to publish their articles on Watergate at a rapid pace, even though that “sometimes meant revealing unsubstantiated or simply wrong information.”

The only problem is that the quote in question is not from Kaus but rather from historian Stanley Kutler. In his post, Kaus both attributed the quote to Kutler as well as setting it off in quote tags.

It is simply mind boggling to see so many professional journalists make such fundamental errors while taking pot shots at weblogs for being too loose with the facts.

And, of course, unlike many weblogs, there is no discussion system linked directly to the article to point out Rutten’s error (nor is there any sort of link to e-mail him to taunt him about being such and idiot).

Source:

To Err Is Human, but to Think Out Loud … Tim Rutten, Los Angeles Times, June 21, 2002.

Several African Nations Want a Resumption of Ivory Trade

Several Southern African nations recently submitted proposals to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species asking it to once again allow world trade in ivory. Ivory trade was banned in 1989 after widespread poaching had reduced the number of elephants from an estimated 10 million in 1900 to an estimated 600,000 in 1989.

Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe all applied to have the ban on the ivory trade overturned permanently.

In part, the ivory ban is a victim of its own success. Widespread poaching has all but disappeared and, as a result, elephant populations have increased markedly. In some areas the number of elephants now exceeds the carrying capacity of the protected wildlife preserves. In South Africa’s Kruger National Park, for example, the optimal population is 7,000 elephants, but there are now more than 9,000 elephants in the park.

Other governments also face similar problems where they will have to start killing elephants in order to prevent the elephants from harming other species.

Supporters of the ban insist that if it is lifted widespread poaching will inevitably return. The proposal will be considered at the CITES convention in Chile next November.

Sources:

Push to reopen trade in ivory. Michael Dynes, The Australian, June 14, 2002.

African states fight ban on ivory trade. Michael Dynes, The Times (London), June, 13, 2002.

Bid to overturn ban on ivory sales. Gaia Vince, NewScientist.Com, June 14, 2002

ALF Attack on Marsh Employee

The latest target of the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty is Marsh, a multinational insurance company that provides legally required laboratory insurance policies to Huntingdon Life Sciences (what’s next? Are these morons going to start targeting the suppliers who sell paper clips to dentists frequented by HLS employees?) On its web site, SHAC posted the following release allegedly sent to SHAC by the Animal Liberation Front,

Happy Fathers Day Rob Harper. I hope you liked our gift

In the wee hours of the mourning (sic) on June 15, Marsh Boston Employee, Rob Harper . . . received an early Fathers Day gift that he will never forget. A few gallons of red paint were thrown all over Harper’s front steps and door. This left the front of his house caked in a huge pool of red paint.

Rob Harper is responsible for 500 animals dying within HLS today and as long as Marsh has ties with HLS, Marsh will be a target. This also goes for any other company or business that has times with HLS – they will pay for it.

There will be no rest for these murders. HLS will be closed.

This action is dedicated to the 500 animals that were murdered inside of HLS today.

Love,
The Animal Liberation Front

Not a single word, of course, on the animals killed to make those gallons of paint.

Source:

SHAC press release. June 17, 2002.

Researcher Leaves Ohio State University Saying It Did Not Support Him Against Animal Rights Activists

At the beginning of June, Ohio State University research Michael Podell published an important study related to his feline AIDS research. Podell’s findings offered important clues about how drug abuse quickens the rate of AIDS infection and AIDS-related dementia. But a little more than a week later OSU announced that Podell was leaving OSU. Podell says it was because he never received the support he need from the university in dealing with animal rights activists.

In an e-mail to Columbus newspaper The Other Paper, Podell maintained that lack of support from OSU was the main reason for his exit. Podell wrote,

The Ohio State University could not provide an environment conducive to continuation of my research or my role as a clinician and instructor. There were many opportunities for these problems to be addressed appropriately, but an insufficient response pattern was taken by the administration here.

OSU maintains that it did all it could to help and support Podell, but OSU public relations flak Earle Holland unintentionally confirmed Podell’s point. He told The Other Paper that Podell wanted the university to issue a public statement supporting him and condemning the animal rights protesters. Holland went on to add that,

Mike [Podell] would like to have a definitive statement out of the institution to put a stop to this. That’s not something an institution can do.

So OSU had a $1.68 million grant from the federal government (which was awarded to OSU, not to Podell) and a top notch medical researcher, and it considered it beyond the pale to issue a press release unequivocally defending his research? It’s hard for me to think of a more pathetic institutional response.

Certainly it’s unfortunate to see Podell fleeing OSU due to animal rights activists, but since OSU was unwilling to grow a spine he had little choice.

Sources:

Embattled researcher leaving. David Lore, The Columbus Dispatch, June 12, 2002.

Cat AIDS researcher says Ohio State didn’t back him. Josh Caton, The Other Paper, June 20, 2002.

European Parliament Approves Ban on Cosmetics Testing on Animals

On June 11 the European Parliament approved a proposal to not only ban cosmetics testing on animals, but also to ban the import of any new cosmetics product that has been tested on animals anywhere in the world.

The proposal defined 14 specific tests used on new products in the European Union. For 11 of those tests, any new cosmetic sold in Europe after December 31, 2004 would have to have been tested in an animal alternative (no word on exactly how strict that standard is given that many animal alternatives in fact utilize animals). For the other three tests, companies would have until 2008 to develop alternative tests.

Great Britain, the Netherlands, Austria and Germany already ban the testing of cosmetics products on animals within their borders, but the proposed ban on the importing of products tested on animals will meet stiff resistance from the European Commission, especially from France, where most European cosmetics animal testing occurs, and Great Britain, which argues that the law would violate international trade agreements.

In 1993, the European Parliament approved a similar ban which was later rejected by the European Commission.

Source:

Strasbourg votes to ban cosmetics tested on animals. Stephen Castle, The Independent (London), June 12, 2002.

Policy and politics: MEPs ban cosmetics tested on animals. Andrew Osborn, The Guardian (London), June 12, 2002.

Anti-HLS Activists Pleads Guilty to Death Threats, Child Porn

British animal rights activist Robert Moaby plead guilty this week to four counts of making death threats against people connected with Huntingdon Life Sciences and 17 counts related to the distribution and possession of child pornography which was found on Moaby’s computer after British police effected a search warrant of his residence.

Moaby had sent death threats to executives at the Bank of New York and the AIM Fund Management, both of which have been targeted by Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty for their connections with Huntingdon Life Sciences.

Detective Constable Tim Duffin told The Times of London,

Some of these e-mails were quite terrifying. They contained almost all the profanities you could think of and threats of sexual assault.

Moaby sent them saying he was representing SHAC, Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty. The threats were very time specific and would say things along the line of ‘you will die this week.’

The targets of these threats lived in the United States and they informed the FBI who in turn passed along information about the threats to Scotland Yard which arrested Moaby on June 21, 2001. Moaby is scheduled to be sentenced on July 22.

Source:

Animal rights activist hoarded child porn. The Times (London), June 18, 2002.