Security trumps whales, court rules (9th Circus lifts injunction, 2-1 vote)

San Diego Union - Tribune ^ | 9/1/07 | Terry Rodgers

[Hacksaw]

I'm all for protecting whales - IMO there is no need for whale hunts anymore. But specious claims like this environmental group is making should have at least some evidence. And I think think whales are smart enough to distinguish between their own calls and the sonar.

It would be interesting to know if any of these environmental groups that seek to block military training are getting any money from foreign nations - say China for example.

[digger48]

I see one of H.W.’s appointees survived 16 years in the abyss(mal) 9th Circuit and still has some sanity remaining.

[ConorMacNessa]

For once I hope the Supremes affirm a ruling of the 9th Circuit.

[eyedigress]

Why don’t they just tell flipper to pass the word to the whales?

[fish hawk]

Whales and dolphins beach themselves all the time whether there is sonar training going on or not. No one knows why they do it, possibly global warming and for sure Bush’s fault, no doubt. (sarcasm) If one was to make a study of all the beachings in the last twenty years and found out just how many of them happened while sonar training was going on, one would find the percentages in the zero to 1 percent range. This whole thing is a “Spotted Owl” of the ocean ploy.

[eyedigress]

Do you have any links to show stuff about mammal suicide, as far as fish go? LOL (I’m Serious)

[Judges Gone Wild]

The 9th Circuit gets something right. Someone must have been praying.

[DoughtyOne]

IMO the verdict is still out on this. I’m all for the Navy using the latest tech for it’s purposes, but I’m not in favor of killing or even damaging marine life to accomplish their goals.

I don’t know enough about it to know which is the right decision here. I do hope that if the Navy does use the new sonar, it is found to have no effect on Marine life.

It’s my opinion that the environmental folks have gone overboard once again on this, but like I said I’m no expert on this.

I say go Navy, but limit the first tests in order to observe any ill effects. If none are seen, then increase the frequency of them so that it can be clear every step of the way that marine life doesn’t suffer a negative impact.

In this manner, both sides can be assured of the best outcome.

It had occurred to me that it might be possible to alter the frequency of the pings out of the whale’s range of hearing. Would that sort of option be possible?

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

They finally get one right!

[fish hawk]

There is lots on the human mammal, I don’t know much about the other mammals though.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

"...specious claims like this environmental group is making should have at least some evidence."

The Left doesn't need evidence. They only need to frighten the sheeple. Anyway, no harm done right? The 80 million who died because of Rachael Carson? Well, that was just an unfortunate mistake.

[concentric circles]

“Today, dozens of countries — including North Korea and Iran — have extremely quiet diesel-electric submarines, and more than 180 of them operate in the Pacific,” said Vice Adm. Samuel Locklear, commander of the U.S. 3rd Fleet. “Active sonar is the best system we have to detect and track them.”

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***The 9th Circuit gets something right. Someone must have been praying.***

Even a blind hog finds an acorn every once in a while.

[vetsvette]

“IMO the verdict is still out on this. I’m all for the Navy using the latest tech for it’s purposes, but I’m not in favor of killing or even damaging marine life to accomplish their goals.”

If the verdict’s out on this, the verdict’s still out on the flat earth theory. I have no idea how many millions of dollars the Navy has spent on this non-issue over the past 20-30 years, but it has to be a huge number. This thing has been going on in a serious way since the 1st Reagan administration.

But, even if it hadn’t been going on for so long and there was some actual evidence to support the envir-whacko claims, it would still be pretty hard to argue with a straight face that a few lost whales was worth jeopardizing American national security.

I’m continue to be amazed at how little some Americans value the work that our military must do to keep us all safe.

[Califreak]

Wow. I can’t believe they actually made the right decision for once!

[DoughtyOne]

I’m continue to be amazed at how little some Americans value the work that our military must do to keep us all safe.

As am I, but I would hope you haven't jumped to the conclusion that I fall into that category. If so, you've made serious mistake in judgment.

[DoughtyOne]

Just because some of us have not been tuned into this over the last thirty years, it doesn’t mean that we aren’t reasonable people. To equate my reticense to come down on either side to that of flat earthers is childish.

I am open to you providing any information you have to butress your case. So far all you’e actually provided is insults.

Just because something has been worked on for thirty years, doesn’t mean it has existed in it’s present form for that period of time, or has been tested in the ocean to prove it’s success.

Why don’t you tell us more oh mighty sage.

[vetsvette]

I expect that your knowledge that even the leftists of the 9th Circus are ahead of you on this issue is probably all the evidence you really need that the enviro-whacko’s were out of line.

[DoughtyOne]

And I would suggest that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is overturned more times than not. This may or may not be a right decison by them.

Look, I said that I lean more heavily toward the Navy in this instance and you should have accepted that.