Debbie Schlussel: Judge to U.S. Navy: Save the Whales, Not Americans
As I've said repeatedly on this site and elsewhere, PETA a/k/a PUTAh (People for the Unethical Treatment of Animals and humans) has won. The animal rights freaks are still crusading, but they've already gotten Americans to spend billions on silly things like aromatherapy and blueberry facials for their pets. They've gotten dogs semi-human legal status in divorce settlements and wills.
And, most important, they convinced a federal judge to tell the United States Navy, yesterday, that whales are more important than maritime national security. This time, it isn't PUTAh, it's their buddies at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Same diff.
Now, the Navy cannot conduct practice exercises of the coast of California--important missions to train for detecting hostile watercraft from enemies like Iran, North Korea, Al-Qaeda, etc.
And if I were a terrorist planning to approach the U.S. by sea--and we know from FBI alerts, Al-Qaeda is, indeed, investing in scuba gear--I'd make sure I'm swimming and stowing my amphibious gear and dingy in the path of the whales:
A federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday rejected the Bush administration's attempt to exempt Navy sonar training from key environmental laws, saying that there's no real emergency to justify overruling court-ordered protections for whales and dolphins.U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper [DS: A Clinton appointee] also suggested that President Bush's effort to maneuver around an earlier federal court order was "constitutionally suspect," although she made no ruling on that issue.
The 36-page order means the Navy will have to follow Cooper's previous injunction forbidding the use of powerful submarine-detecting sonar in areas where whales are abundant, such as within 12 nautical miles of the coast and between Santa Catalina and San Clemente islands.
That January order also will require the Navy to shut down sonar when whales or other marine mammals are spotted within 2,200 yards of vessels or under certain sea conditions that allow the sonic blasts to travel farther than usual. This type of sonar has been linked to mass deaths of whales in the Bahamas, the Canary Islands and elsewhere, although never off Southern California. . . .
"I don't know what it's going to take for the Navy to get it," Douglas said. "The courts have said over and over that the Navy must follow the law."
The Navy maintains that the lives of its sailors depend on being properly trained to detect vessels operated by China, Iran, North Korea and other potentially hostile nations.
"The Navy's current 'emergency' is simply a creature of its own making, i.e., its failure to prepare adequate environmental documentation in a timely fashion," [Judge] Cooper wrote.
Joel Reynolds, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, applauded the ruling.
The judge says there's "no real emergency" justifying the use of sonar to detect terrorists. I just love when judges think they are national security experts (another example is Detroit-area Federal Judge Gerald Rosen).
Hmmm . . . If I'm Bin Laden, I'm telling my guys to take a water route within 12 nautical miles of the coast and between Santa Catalina and San Clemente islands, where whales are in abundance and U.S. Navy sonar won't be.
Alhamdillullah [Praise Allah] for Her (Dis)Honor Florence-Marie Cooper.
Posted by Debbie on February 5, 2008 11:17 AM to Debbie Schlussel