Posted on 07/18/2004 7:50:25 PM PDT by samtheman
The cast of characters at the recently concluded "Animal Rights 2004" convention including a tenured university professor, a self-described ocean-going pirate, and a husband-and-wife team seemingly dedicated to "animal liberation" by any means necessary. Meet Jerry Vlasak and his wife Pamelyn Ferdin, both of whom have close connections to PETA's quasi-medical front group, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM).
Vlasak has been arrested several times, and urges others to "get arrested." Referring to a violent subset of the terrorist Animal Liberation Front (ALF), he described himself during the convention as "heavily involved in the SHAC campaign." And then, in a stunning comment, Vlasak predicted a particularly violent future for his social movement:
It won't ruin our movement if someone gets killed in an animal rights action. It's going to happen sooner or later. The Animal Liberation Front, the Earth Liberation Front -- sooner or later there's going to be someone getting hurt. And we have to accept that fact. It's going to happen. It's not going to hurt our movement. Our movement will go on. And it's important that we not let the bully pulpit of the FBI and the other oppression agencies stop us from what we're doing. They are the violent ones. They are the terrorists ... we have to keep doing what we're doing. (click here for video.)At last year's "Animal Rights 2003" event, Vlasak specifically advocated the murder of doctors who use animals in their research, saying: "I don't think you'd have to kill -- assassinate -- too many ... I think for 5 lives, 10 lives, 15 human lives, we could save a million, 2 million, 10 million non-human lives."
Vlasak has represented PCRM on issues of animal testing. He writes for PCRM's magazine, and is identified in the magazine as "PCRM's Jerry Vlasak." In a February 2002 press release, Vlasak is called a "PCRM spokesperson."
Pamelyn Ferdin is an aging B-movie actress best known as the voice of the bossy Lucy Van Pelt on the "Peanuts" television specials. Vlasak and Ferdin are both officers of the Animal Defense League Los Angeles (ADL), which made headlines last year for waging an all-out holy war (including aggressive, at-home protests) against the Los Angeles bureaucrat in charge of the city's animal shelters. Ferdin told Animal Rights 2004 convention-goers:
We want to make people who walk down to a park, or walk their animals who are unaltered feel ashamed, feel humiliated, that they dare have a companion animal who is unaltered when there are thousands being killed in our city shelters because of this problem. (click here for video)In addition to her affiliation with ADL, Ferdin carries a PCRM business card. Amazingly, it identifies PCRM's business address as the same location in Santa Monica, California where ADL receives its mail.
A look at ADL's board of directors fleshes out the bigger picture. In addition to Vlasak and Ferdin, its officers include Gary Yourofsky, a convicted Animal Liberation Front felon who openly advocates arson and murder. Yourofsky's most recent job was indoctrinating middle-school and high-school children on behalf of PETA. Also on ADL's board is Allison Lance Watson, the wife of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society pirate Paul Watson. When she is tried later this year, she will face five years in prison for lying to a federal grand jury about her possible role in a 2001 ALF arson. Jerry Vlasak is also Sea Shepherd's treasurer.
The broad connections among PETA, PCRM, SHAC, ADL, and Sea Shepherd suggest that few things on the animal-rights radical fringe happen in a vacuum. And with the movement's leaders openly advocating in-your-face tactics and outright violence, Jerry Vlasak's stunning prophecy may soon be realized.
Exactly. I champion animal welfare - not animal rights. Non-sentient beings deserve compassionate treatment but should never be accorded rights as they're not in a position to exercise them. Only human beings are capable of both reasoning and moral judgments.
But are they as concerned for the plight of the unborn humans??
Let's oblige 'em. I would rather imagine a world without animaterrorists.
Animal rights lunatics have already killed two people in the Netherlands, libertarian politician Pim Fortuyn and state environmental inspector Chris van Wagenen. As usual in cases of eco-wacky violence, the media have essentially covered for them, giving little if any emphasis to the assassin's animal rights credentials.
It is only a matter of time before it happens here. These are demented, ruthless, genocidal people and they really make no secret of it.
I wonder if they have any inkling of the whirlwind they will reap when it does happen?
The FBI will be the least of their worries.
The face, pride and joy of today's modern Democratic party, I suspect.
I think it's time we bring back the old Roman way of punishment, feeding people to the lions ...
I believe PCRM puts out a bunch anti-Atkins press releases and the lamestream media runs with them.
Source: Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Released: Wed 10-Jul-2002, 00:00 ET
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Doctors Weigh in on Diet War Cover Stories in NYT and Time Magazine
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atkins diet vegetarian fat meat vegan carbohydrates high-fat
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Doctors and dietitians with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine are available for interviews on two major nutrition stories--a cover article in Sunday's New York Times Magazine about the Atkins Diet and a cover story in this week's Time Magazine on vegetarian diets.
Doctors and dietitians with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine are available for interviews on two major nutrition stories--a cover article in Sunday's New York Times Magazine about the Atkins Diet and a cover story in this week's Time Magazine on vegetarian diets.
The NYT story "What if It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?" explores the claim that Dr. Atkins and other high-fat proponents make--that carbohydrates, not fat, have caused America's obesity epidemic.
PCRM president and nutrition researcher Neal Barnard, M.D., rebuts the Atkins claims and points to a vast body of scientific literature showing that the thinnest and healthiest people on the planet--Asians consuming rice-based diets and vegetarians eating a variety of grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruits--eat plenty of carbohydrates.
"Like the fabled blind men groping to understand an elephant, the Atkins camp has turned a piece of dietary truth into a whopping misconception," says Barnard. "The 'carbophobes' point out that diets rich in sugars (or in starches that release sugars quickly) are likely to spark the release of insulin, which, in turn, slows down fat-burning. But most foods rich in complex carbohydrates--such as beans, vegetables, most fruits, and even some grain products--cause no insulin overreaction, are extremely healthful, and boost overall metabolism. Generally speaking, the carbs that present problems for some dieters are refined grains and potatoes, which tend to release sugars more rapidly than other foods."
In fact, a recent PCRM weight-loss study on low-fat vegan diets showed that the more carbohydrates the research participants ate, the more weight they lost.
"The Atkins Diet appears to be as harmful as we've always thought it was," says Barnard. "Yes, it throws the body into a state of ketosis, a metabolic derangement that temporarily burns fat. But it misses the fiber and antioxidants that protect against cancer and other serious diseases."
Regarding this week's Time Magazine cover story, "Should We All Be Vegetarians?": PCRM applauds Time for giving vegetarian diets front-and-center attention but has a few beefs with the article.
"We're delighted that Time has recognized the many health benefits of vegetarian diets," says Barnard. "Unfortunately, the article repeats many of the myths about plant-based diets that were long ago proven false. Vegetarians actually have better overall nutrient intake than meat-eaters do, for example. Vegetarians have less heart disease, lower cancer rates, and are slimmer than meat-eaters," says Barnard.
Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit organization that promotes preventive medicine, particularly good nutrition, and conducts clinical research trials. PCRM also promotes higher standards in research.
bttfl
MOre animal rights nuts who are unhinged... People who place animals over their own human speices have something mentally wrong.
For later.
Very interesting that they have actually started to take lives. I knew it would happen in Europe first, but always figured it would be in Great Britain. Won't be long before it does make its way across the pond. I haven't kept up much with their antics since I finished my thesis. This is definitely a change of position/tactics.
I don't know which PETA leader said it, but a woman said she would committ suicide to lessen the burden on the earth.
The sooner , the better.
I personally eat some meat/fish, a lot of complex carbs and as little "junk food" as possible. It seems to work for me. I have health and energy. My one vice is diet coke. I drink a lot of it and it probably isn't good for me.
yep!
Confront them. Don't let them put you on the defensive. Confront them.
They already do. I was arguing with one of these nuts not too long ago. He expressed a hope that AQ would unleash some sort of virus that would wipe humans from the face of the earth. If that occurred, maybe mother earth could recover in time.
I avoid animal rights people on all levels. They are complete loons and hypocrites btw (abortion, GM foods,etc).
WRONG! Christ said that everything that goes into us is clean. Its what comes out of us is unclean.
Who-so-ever that loves the earth and anything in it...
These are Earth worshippers..cultists.
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