Guest guest Posted May 25, 2000 Report Share Posted May 25, 2000 ===== A message from the 'makahwhaling' discussion list ===== FROM WASHINGTON CITIZEN'S COASTAL ALLIANCE -- SEKIU, WA: 1:15pm PDT No hunt. Again. Rumors are flying that the Makah whalers are in a state of full disarray, with family spats breaking out left and right over who is " qualified " to kill whales. Families are even researching other families' genealogies to keep competitors at bay. Latest word? The Parker family is " out, " and a new whaling team is in training, with members from various families. We'll try to sort it all out when the dust settles, and let you know. One thing is for certain: we are convinced that the Makah WILL try again soon, regardless of the fact that the migration is over. Nearly every whale present in these waters now is a WASHINGTON RESIDENT whale, which they are forbidden to attack! So much for playing by the rules... ***** THE BILLY SECOR SAGA CONTINUES ---------------------- Makah authoriries have put their " spin machine " on FULL ALERT, feeding bits and pieces to the media, but no doubt will will ensure that the following story stays buried. Of course, the ever-vigilant Seattle media is nowhere near the story... but we've come to expect that. We also expect that whale-killing apologist Peggy Anderson of the Associated Press won't touch this story, either, as it might affect her close, personal relationship with whaler Wayne Johnson. Nonetheless, kudos to the Peninsula Daily News for putting out this short news brief! AUTHORITIES ARREST MAKAH WHALING CREW GUNNER Peninsula Daily News, May 25, 2000 A member of the Makah whaling crew was arrested for allegedly making verbal threats against his wife, a tribal official said. William Secor, who is responsible for using a .50-caliber rifle to shoot a whale when harpooned, was arrested last week, Makah Whaling Commission President Keith Johnson said. Tribal legal officials refused to comment on whether charges had been filed against Secor. They also declined to discuss the outcome of a hearing on the matter held Wednesday. It was unclear if Secor would be removed from the crew or whether the arrest would affect the hunt. The Paul Parker family has not taken to the water in pursuit of a whale since May 6. Secor could not be reached for comment. ***** GORE IN THE BALANCE Could angry environmentalists in West make Nader a spoiler? - by Scott Sonner The Associated Press As national environmental groups embrace Al Gore, grass-roots conservationists upset with the Clinton administration's forest policies are contemplating a protest vote for Ralph Nader - a move that could help George W. Bush in some key Western states. Nader, a Green Party candidate, is winning support from the traditional Democratic constituency by offering hard-line environmental proposals. " I don't believe there should be logging in federal forests, period, " he said during a campaign stop along the Sierra Nevada's eastern front, where he also advocated sweeping mine reform. The consumer advocate who got his start taking on the auto industry increasingly is taking aim at Gore's environmental record. And the message seems to be resonating with environmental liberals who view Clinton and Gore as dealmakers too quick to compromise. " Al Gore has broken more of his written promises than any politician in modern history, " Nader said during a speech at the University of Nevada, Reno. " He wrote a book in 1992 (Earth in the Balance), that he completely turned his back on. " Big groups lean toward Gore The Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters haven't decided whether to endorse Gore. But they are leaning that way and doing their best to defend him against detractors. Among the largest national groups only Friends of the Earth, which endorsed Bill Bradley in the Democratic primary, appears to be realistically weighing a Nader endorsement. Nevertheless, a national poll by Zogby International last month found Nader drawing 6 percent of the popular vote - slightly more than Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan's 4 percent - in a field with George W. Bush, 43 percent, and Al Gore, 39 percent. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent. Nader's support climbs to 9 percent in the Pacific and Mountain time zones, said pollster John Zogby in New York. He expects Nader will cut into Gore's support base of liberals and environmentalists, especially in Oregon, Washington, New Mexico - and in all-important California, a state key to the election. " Every three votes Nader gets, two of them he takes from Gore and one is somebody who probably wouldn't vote, " Zogby said. " That could be troublesome for Gore in California. " Equivalent to a vote for Bush? The Gore campaign and its mainstream environmental allies argue a vote for Nader is ultimately a vote for Bush, whose record as Texas governor does not endear him to conservationists. In addition to Bush's ties to the oil industry, critics point to Texas' bad air quality, and particularly Houston's crown as the nation's smog capital of 1999. The League of Conservation Voters says he opposed the Kyoto treaty on global warming, worked to make some Texas air-pollution regulations voluntary and generally advocates a reduced role in environmental enforcement and regulation. " I'm not sure Ralph Nader has been paying too much attention, " said Doug Hattaway, Gore's chief campaign spokesman. " Time Magazine noted that because of Al Gore's efforts, this administration is the most pro-environment in a generation. " If you look at the bottom line in this election, we've got a choice between Bush and Gore, realistically. The most productive thing for an environmentalist to do is to support Al Gore. " Anger over logging But some activists say they've been taken for granted by a Clinton-Gore administration too ready to compromise away old-growth forests and other habitat for endangered wildlife. " Most of my folks are going to vote for Nader. They will never vote for Al Gore again, " said Tim Hermach, executive director of the Native Forest Council in Eugene, Ore. " How often can we be betrayed, lied to, cheated and stolen from and still have us go back to that trough? " Sixteen percent of the old-growth forest that existed when Clinton imposed his 1994 Northwest forest plan has now been logged " on the way to clear-cutting 55 percent of the old growth we had when he started, " Hermach said. " Yet some of us will still vote for Gore because we are so afraid of Republicans and believe they are worse. " However, Hermach said, " I think the worst, dumbest Republican is better for us because we don't perceive him to be our friend. When a Republican is president, conservationists act like savage Rottweilers. Put a Democrat in the White House and they become obsequious lap dogs, groveling over a few meager crumbs. " A coalition of environmentalists in the Sierra Nevada organized under the national group American Lands doesn't endorse candidates. But leaders say many of them will vote for Nader. Clinton move a political ploy? " I would say on a number of issues we are deeply disappointed with the Clinton administration, " said Brian Vincent, California organizer for American Lands in Nevada City, Calif. Vincent was among those who had trumpeted Clinton's proposal last year to protect roadless areas in national forests, calling it a " giant step toward cementing a conservation legacy on par with that of Teddy Roosevelt. " But he's changed his tune. " We think the administration is talking out of both sides of its mouth, " Vincent said. Clinton first unveiled the roadless initiative in October in the weeks after Friends of the Earth endorsed Bradley. " I think it is pretty obvious it is an election-year ploy to get environmental endorsements, " said Fraser Shilling, a Sierra Club member who coordinates a research program on land use at the University of California, Davis. " It is not based on conservation biology. If you really wanted to protect biodiversity, you would start down in the lower elevations. That is where all the good stuff is. And that's not where the roadless areas are. They are primarily higher up. " What will the Sierra Club do? The Sierra Club's national board has identified Bush as the enemy but hasn't decided whether to endorse Gore over Nader. " If they both take us in the right direction, the question becomes who can excite people and compel people to vote? " Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope said from San Francisco. In other words, electability. " There are people who believe it is actually desirable to support a candidate who cannot win because it shifts the political spectrum in your direction, " Pope said. " Those standing outside the winner's circle may line up with Nader. They believe a third-party candidacy is good intrinsically. Others say they want to be with somebody who has a shot at winning. " Tempered by Congress Deb Callahan, executive director of the League of Conservation Voters, said she expects most of her board members who backed Bradley will vote for Gore. " Sure, some people will support Nader because he is articulating a very strong position, " Callahan said. " On the other hand, the vast majority of others are concerned about seeing Bush in the White House or are strong Gore supporters to begin with, " she said. Gore might have been the victim of inflated expectations because of his book on the environment, Callahan said. " Sometimes, advocates who don't really understand the stakes in some of these policy fights don't acknowledge the role a politician has to play in forging something that can be passed by Congress. " Clinton and Gore have been working with a Congress that is the most anti-environmental Congress we have seen in years, " she said. Tom Myers, a member of the Sierra Club and director of the Great Basin Mine Watch in Reno, said he intends to vote for Nader with one caveat. " I like Ralph Nader. He's better on the environment. But frankly, if it is a close election, I'd vote for Gore because I wouldn't want to help Bush. " ***** _______________ The simple way to read all your emails at ThatWeb http://www.thatweb.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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