Vive le France
After reportedly causing a collision with a Canadian Coast Guard ice breaker, endangering the lives of seal hunters by intentionionally breaking up ice on which they were working and using the fatalities of three fishermen to futher his anti-sealing agenda in the media, the Canadian government has finally begun a criminal investigation into the activities of Sea Shepherd leader Paul Watson and his band of eco-terrorists.
As a result, the gutless wonder himself decided to high tail it to the French island of St. Pierre just off the Newfoundland coast.
Upon learning of all this activity around this year's seal harvest and the zealots who haunt it I immediatly wondered why Canada's government did not act sooner to protect its people (at least the ones from Quebec and the maritimes, if not the downtrodden of Newfoundland and Labrador). My second thought was to wonder why St. Pierre, a bastion of France but a long time friend of Newfoundland and Labrador, would allow such an unsavory character to use its port as a hide out. I neednt' have worried on that front.
While the government's of Canada, and perhaps even that of France have been slow to react, the people of the little island have not been.
Reports today confirm that angry fishermen in the European outpost " ...cut the moorings of the vessel and forced it out of the harbour -- saying it's not welcome to return."
Watson, in response has said that he will not give up his actions and that his vessel has enough fuel and supplies to last for weeks without going to a Canadian harbour.
All I can say is Vive le France, or at least to the French fishermen who stepped up and took action. To the government of Canada, isn't it time you did the same?
7 comments:
It's about time someone did something about this terrorist and it's good to see the people of a European country act on it.
This is a guy who used to "spike" trees when he was protesting their cutting. This is a process of putting metal spikes in trees so when a logger's saw cuts into it the saw kicks back and can injure or kill the logger.
Whether you agree with the seal hunt or not, the cutting of trees or not, it's no excuse to endanger the lives of people or make light of those who have already died just for publicity.
This guy needs to be stopped and now!!!
I would just like to say Myles that this is just another excample of how Guttless the Federal Government of Canuckistan truly is.We must now depend on our friends in St Pierre and Miquelon to take a stand for our rights.How truly pathetic.
Thease actions are coming from a spinless worm that has shown his true raciast actions .He will place the lives of candian men in danger,but no action is taken agaisnt his words or actions by the canadain government until now.
http://www.nfb.ca/webextension/ancestors/press2.html
Can I say that if this was a statement made agaisnt a minority by a public offical ,would the press not give it more attention.Sure they would.But,because Newfoundlander's and Labradorian's are second class citizens in this country ,THIER rights can simply wait.
This man and his organization have no place in a multicultural society such as Newfoundland and Labrador.
I really hope Myles that people in and around the St Johns area read your Blog.I want them to know that when thease people come to our great province that some people like myself watch thease buissness that give service to thease people.I want them to know that if you serve them,you will not be getting my buissness or my buissness service.
We can all make a differance ,if we all take a stand to defend our way of life .So bring it on Yank canuck or whatever you are .This is one Newfoundlander that is not afraid to voice how racist your attacks truely are.
Your only a dog Patriot if you allow the will of others to reflect your train of thought.
As Always Myles great work.
From VOCM today, it's about time and the charges aren't nearly enough. There should have been charges of reckless endangerment or something like that.
Here it is:
A new major development in this year's seal hunt controversy as the federal government has laid charges against the captain and chief officer of the Farley Mowat. DFO Minister Loyola Hearn says after an investigation into recent anti-sealing actions by the Farley Mowat, the government has officially charged Captain Alexander Cornelissen and First Officer Peter Hammarstedt. The Captain and First Officer have each been charged with being within half a nautical mile of a person fishing for seals. That charge is a violation of a rule under the Marine Mammal Regulations. Captain Cornelissen has also been given an additional charge under the Fisheries Act for obstructing or hindering a Fishery Officer, a fishery guardian or an inspector who is carrying out duties or functions under that same act. Minister Hearn says the charges were laid after several complaints by captains of several sealing vessels. Hearn says the federal government will not tolerate any actions by protesters that might put the safety and security of sealers at risk. The charges were brought forward in Nova Scotia as that was the proper jurisdiction in relation to the alleged offences.
From VOCM today, it's about time and the charges aren't nearly enough. There should have been charges of reckless endangerment or something like that.
Here it is:
A new major development in this year's seal hunt controversy as the federal government has laid charges against the captain and chief officer of the Farley Mowat. DFO Minister Loyola Hearn says after an investigation into recent anti-sealing actions by the Farley Mowat, the government has officially charged Captain Alexander Cornelissen and First Officer Peter Hammarstedt. The Captain and First Officer have each been charged with being within half a nautical mile of a person fishing for seals. That charge is a violation of a rule under the Marine Mammal Regulations. Captain Cornelissen has also been given an additional charge under the Fisheries Act for obstructing or hindering a Fishery Officer, a fishery guardian or an inspector who is carrying out duties or functions under that same act. Minister Hearn says the charges were laid after several complaints by captains of several sealing vessels. Hearn says the federal government will not tolerate any actions by protesters that might put the safety and security of sealers at risk. The charges were brought forward in Nova Scotia as that was the proper jurisdiction in relation to the alleged offences.
Sorry far too little.Far too late.
It takes a lifetime to create a Reputuation and a day too destroy it.How is this going to help Newfoundland and Labrador in the eye's of the world.
Disposition of character,falsifying information ,and attacking a minority's way of life.So the fed's finally ,after years of attack and discrimination agaisnt my cultural rights,they decide to do something.
Sorry ,if I dont bust at the seems for gratitude,as they get thier smack on the hand ,and a stern "don't do it again from the judge"
All in all ,its just pathetic.
Dude - the feds have been supporting the sealers for decades. They spend millions on safety, icebreaking, search and rescue, they subsidized an unprofitable hunt for nearly twenty years, they've fought trade battles against popular opinion, and they've always granted a higher quota then the sealers have even been able to catch.
Seriously, go on and blame Ottawa for whatever you like, but they've been good to sealers, both as Liberals and Tories.
If you knew any real sealers they'd tell you the same thing. Then again, your only encounter with an ice floe is when your mother asks you to leave the basement for an hour and shovel off the lawn on a warm spring day.
There is so much wrong with the preceding Anonymous comment that it's hard to know where to begin. Mind you there are some truths there as well.
First of all, the hunt is not unprofitable. Ice breaking, search and rescue, etc are not subsidies, I wish the wing nut animal rights folks would get over that. Those are the same services offered to any commercial enterprise, or individual for that matter, by tax dollars. The seal hunt is no different.
As for the quota being set so high it cannot be reached, in fact it is often met. Some years, due to bad ice conditions, weather, etc. it isn't but there are some seasons when it is actually exceeded (unintentionally) by a small percentage due to the difficulty in tracking that sort of info while the hunt is underway.
That's not to say those occassions have a detrimental impact on the stocks because they are in excellent shape and not in any way put in peril by the quotas.
As for supporting the hunt, the feds do as little as they can get away with. If they really wanted to support it they would use every law on the books against a-holes like Watson and his kind. They would stand up and fight (harder than they have) when activists tell lies and spread hate and they would find new markets for a valuable and renewable product rather than standing idly by.
I could go on but since there is no making the blind see I won't bother.
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