Old men cannot help feeling sad – not just at the physical ramifications, the illnesses you know will come all too soon or the fact that the fateful day is not far off. It’s not even the mistakes made, the people hurt by what you’ve said and done or the opportunities missed. These things are balanced off by the knowledge that your fate is that of every living thing in the world and your family. To have the love of my life, four children (one deceased), eight grandchildren, and one great grandchild balances the unbalanceable equation.
For me, the truly horrid part is to see that not only have humans learned no lessons, we continue to go backwards at an unsustainable rate.
We have freely elected governments in both Ottawa and Victoria that not only refuse to understand the consequences of their deliberate, greedy ways, but actually believe that their actions are helpful to mankind. They have all, I assume, been taught to tell the truth but they consistently lie, such that one cannot accept a word they say. Worse, they have created an atmosphere where everyone, especially big business, must also lie – although which came first I cannot say.
The past week has been especially hard for this old guy to handle. The premier of the province tells us that an oil refinery in Kitimat will blow our troubles away. We should now consider the proposed Enbridge Pipeline to be a blessing as if the diluted bitumen to pass through the pipeline is now not a worry. She tells us that the “Prosperity Fund”, from Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) revenues, will put, someday soon, $100 BILLION into our kitty for safe keeping. How unhelpful it is to point out that LNG is a glut on the market or alternatively will, at the best, offset the egregious fiscal harm done the province since the Liberals took power in 2001.
We have a federal government utterly bent on having this pipeline approved and have sent a lawyer off to convince First Nations that lots of Wampum will come their way if they just ignore their centuries old commitment to the environment.
The basic point is essentially this: when large corporate profits are at stake, the environment, our natural inheritance, means, dare I say it, fuck-all – a naughty phrase but it, better than any other, sums up this utterly uncaring attitude of those put in authority over us. It’s not that they don’t care – they do care about political funds and corporate profits while ignoring our inheritance and what should be our legacy for our descendants.
What really struck me this week was the resignation from the Sea Shepherd Society of Captain Paul Watson, who has been designated a “pirate” by the US District Court of Appeals, which made the point that the critical importance of your crusade cannot permit you to enforce your own penalties.
As I sit here by my computer this Thursday morning, I’m wearing a Sea Shepherd pullover – I put it on, eerily, before I heard the news of his departure from the organization’s anti-whaling fleet. I have been on Sea Shepherd’s Board of Advisors for over 20 years – I’ve known Paul for more than 30.
I’m not going to trouble you with Paul’s many activities but simply say that, yes, Paul did try to protect the oceans of the world, contrary to the wishes of corporations and their captive governments. For the vast majority of cases, he tried to enforce international law when no one else would. He looked at Japan killing hundreds of whales a year for scientific purposes with all the animals – surprise! surprise! – ending up as sushi in exclusive restaurants and tried to save these whales.
He tried to enforce laws against stripping shark fins away and throwing the poor creatures back in the water for a slow, painful death, so that Chinese gentlemen could get a hard on. He tried to enforce international laws against killing seals so that fancy women in Europe could wear mink coats. He went to the Faroe Islands to stop the annual “harvesting” of Pilot Whales for no better reason than they’ve always done it. (You might find it interesting to note that on the back of a Faroe bill is an engraving of a man clubbing a whale to death).
Let me try to put this in perspective. There have seldom been fundamental rights granted or enforced without the presence or threat of force. The barons at Runnymede, Martin Luther, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, the protection of minorities, and the list goes on. It’s interesting to note that in his 30-plus years, Watson caused no injuries, much less death.
I’m not making a case for Paul – he can and does speak for himself and what he believes in.
What distresses me is that governments, acting in our name, put fish farms, desecration of farmland, destruction of our rivers, pipelines and tankers, ahead of what really should count in life while so many of us vote for them.
As Pogo said in the famous cartoon of the 40s and 50s, “we’ve met the enemy and it is us.”
Saturday, 30 March 2013 14:15 posted by kujirakira
Could you please cite specifically the “international law” that Pirate Watson was attempting to enforce?
Because, as evidenced in the testimony given by SSCS’ own lawyer during the hearings with 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, everything they’re doing is 100% legal.
You complain an awful lot about lying, but then you start telling some whoppers yourself. To say nothing of the all the whoppers told by your dear leader.
I’d suggest if you want to stand on a soap box and preach to people about ethics and morals, that you should find some yourself first.
Saturday, 30 March 2013 13:23 posted by Damien Gillis
Re: your third-hand, google translated Costa Rican report, you may consider using the word “allegedly”, Len. That you are not a Watson fan is evident – but you’re reaching here. Touche on the mink coats, though…And don’t take Rafe’s lack of response for anything other than a reflection of his lack of ability to master the complex technical workings of our comments system.
Monday, 25 March 2013 09:49 posted by Len
No response to my simple queries here Mr. Mair?
I guess truth doesn’t have the liberty of appearing in your writings?
Saturday, 23 March 2013 19:33 posted by Len
“It’s interesting to note that in his 30-plus years, Watson caused no injuries, much less death.”
—————
Mr. Mair I was able to find an article online about the clash between Watson’s ship and the Costa Rican vessel Varadero. I am linking a Google translation version of the article as the original is in Spanish (you need to click where it say ‘Articulo Completo’ to see the whole story).
http://tinyurl.com/clt8lko
This article is saying that when the Sea Shepherds rammed this small wooden boat that some members of the crew were injured in the fingers, and that it hindered them in finding jobs. Did you and the other members of the Sea Shepherd Board of Advisors decide that these people didn’t count for some reason when you were determining that Paul Watson has caused no injuries in his 30-plus years?
Saturday, 23 March 2013 18:04 posted by Damien Gillis
Good catch, Len. Seal coats that is. You’re such a stickler.
Saturday, 23 March 2013 13:51 posted by Len
“He tried to enforce international laws against killing seals so that fancy women in Europe could wear mink coats.”
Could you let us know what international law against killing seals he was trying to enforce? I had not been aware of any.
Also I believe mink coats are generally made out of minks, not seals.
Saturday, 23 March 2013 11:41 posted by Jeff
Harper and Clark are no different then Bush & Cheney, and pushing the status quo, money & jobs over the environment, actively denying obvious truths, and being backed up by the main stream media is decimating both countries, and the world.
In the last 200 years all we have managed to do is transfer the tyranny of kings, to the tyranny of corporations.
… Many brave people are trying, Alexandra Morton, Paul Watson, Idle no More etc… but both sides of the border maintain a vast majority of people who William Blake described as being asleep, unaware, ignorant whatever…
We continue to be forced a carbon based economy like it is still and option. We’re left with only symbolic protests, but like the Viet Nam war taught us, burning our draft cards, didn’t stop the war, or the obscene industrial military complex that has ruled the world since WWII.
Yes it is depressing, and time is running out on everyone waking up before it is too late.
Saturday, 23 March 2013 08:39 posted by Karl
You talk about Watson in the past tense, as if his leaving the fleet, a step taken only to avoid potential arrest in Australia, were some sort of permanent departure from his cause.
The headline of the article discusses his stepping down from SSCS (United States) leadership, which similarly is a step taken only in name – to avoid potential sanctions because watson himself is named as a party in the suit recently addressed by the US Ninth Circuit. Now SSCS claims that SSCS Australia is in charge, and since SSCS US and Watson “aren’t involved”, US courts have no jurisdiction.
Seems like stuff a personal friend and long term advisor should know, but the rest of the article does not inspire confidence in the author’s general awareness.
Friday, 22 March 2013 10:31 posted by workforfun
Conservative or right wing governments are nothing more than paid employees of the largest corporations – ones big enough to tell the government what they want.
This should send out warning messages to the people that they (givernment) just cannot be trusted these days – especially the corporation driven entities like Harpers Enterprises.
Sheesh, you would think the electorate would learn from past mistakes, but no, they put the Conservatives back in power. Now we are really starting to see the way government operate – pissing all and s undry off, lying and BSing their way through one scandal after another.
Just where will Canada be when the Fist Nation people take on the government over environmental pollution – even 18year old young men are walking to Ottawa from Northern Quebec to make apoint. They do this without getting paid a grand sum of money – unlike government ministers that are paid to deliver propaganada speeches.
Yes, let us watch the government ministers bathe and drink the water around Fort Mc Murray, each the fish out of the rivers and lakes, dine on finely cooked wild duck retreived from polluted containment ponds etc.
Soo sad they cannot see.
thx.