Ecology Defense -- Just some background information

As a skeptic, I recognize the need for medical experimentation upon non-human animals yet I also recognize the fact that much of the medical experimentation that takes place today on animals is totally unneeded and that much of what goes on inside of animal testing facilities is needlessly painful and brutal. Indeed, I also recognize the fact that a lot of science fraud takes place within animal testing labs.

I don't support violent activities of any organization yet I do recognize the need to stop the massive abuses conducted against animals in the name of science. Animal rights and ecology defense organizations employ non-violent passive resistance and that's an ideology I do support.

Also as a skeptic I recognize the need for slowing the spread of humanity on the planet to curb the loss of bio-diversity among the plants and animals of Earth until such time tht technology can re-establish habitats for the species humanity has almost wiped out. Nuclear waste remains one of my personal primary concerns and the world's current insane policy of mass dilution of relatively short-lived radioactive isotopes to the atmosphere has been one of the issues I've been covertly activated against for decades.

Like violence among animal rights activists, I also don't support the violent activities of ecology activists however I do recognize the need for humans to stop breeding beyond both the technological boundaries of humanity's ability to feed itself and to stop breeding beyond Westernized society's relatively high quality of life. I'm against the violence yet totally supportive of the goals of animal rights and environmental preservation activists.

There are organizations out there in the real world that work very hard to make the world a better place to live, working to put an end to the abuse of animals and the destruction of the environment through calm, peaceful, and legal means. There are also organizations out there -- indeed, if you can call them "organized" -- that employ "direct action;" attacks directed at the economics behind the rape of the land and the greed of cosmetics companies and fur companies. These web pages take a brief look at the extreme side of the activism in these arenas.

And yes, The Skeptic Tank anonymously financially supports In Defense of Animals since that organization's ideologies are in line with mine and that organization employes peaceful, legal actions to help put a stop to the abuse of animals and the destruction of the environment. There's also another organization which I support in some ways (and not in others) called No Compromise which you might check out. Their methods are a little drastic yet I support their legal activities.

The only illegal activity that I actually think should be permitted and can conceivably support is tree spikeing wherein ceramic or metal spikes are driven in to trees that are public property and belong to everyone, not just lumber companies that pay fat cat corrupt politicians for the fraudulent right to cut them down.

On the other side of the coin, we observe the Federal government adopting massively unconstitutional, Fascist procedures for dealing with activists that engage in "direct action" against destructive industries. Soe activists have adopted illegal activity because peaceful, legal actions weren't working quickly enough. The Federal law enforcement agencies countered by adopting illegal activity because peaceful, legal actions aren't enough to counter such activists.

Looking at the battle as a non-combatant, I can see how it might otherwise be an amusing phenomena were it not for the fact that the Federal government adversely impacts my Civil and Constitutional liberties as they try to get a handle on "direct action" activists.

Activists have forced the Federal government to disregard the very laws the Feds are using to put "direct action" activists in prison -- and while doing so they threaten the rights of all of us. I'd like to see the animal rights activists and the ecology activists win this war yet I'd like to see them win it legally since they're forcing the Feds to become tyranical, Fascist, goose-stepping Nazi pigs simply because the Feds have no legal handle of their own which can be used to get ahold of ecology "direct actions" which operate independantly in cells without any central leadership.

The information provided here is for educational purposes only and I would urge you to contact the organizations indicated in the materials directly if you have questions or comments. You may certainly send me e-mail about some of these issues if you wish and I will most likely respond. I've made sure that all of the hypertext links provided in the original text are working to make it easy for you to follow them if you wish.

[NOTE: I don't accept responsibility for your irresponsibility, by the way. If you do something stupid with the information you find here, The Skeptic Tank obviously disavows any responsibility for your actions. I've gone ahead and censored myself by removing the home addresses of people that was offered in some of this material since I believe that posting them on the Internet is too irresponsible - flr]