Thomas Paine’s Corner (TPC), founded on March 10, 2005 by Jason Miller, is dedicated to ending the unnecessary suffering of oppressed and exploited sentient beings and to the total liberation of human animals, nonhuman animals, and the Earth. While TPC is eclectic, holistic, and open to different perspectives, it approaches anti-capitalism and total liberation from an essentially anarcho-veganist position, as portrayed in the graphic above by the juxtaposition of the Boy Scout--a victim of one of the indoctrinating mechanisms for our imperialist, patriarchal, faux Christian, corporatist, statist, speciesist society--against the anarchist symbol, which represents democracy, decentralization, mutually respectful individual sovereignty, egalitarianism, direct action, and mutual aid.
Jason Miller
Senior Editor and Founder,
Thomas Paine's Corner (TPC)
Jennifer Bowman
Senior Associate Editor,
Thomas Paine's Corner (TPC)
Dominique Landis
Associate Editor,
Thomas Paine's Corner (TPC)
Dr. Steve Best
Senior Editor of Total Liberation,
Thomas Paine's Corner (TPC)
Jerry Vlasak, MD
Senior Editor of Animal Liberation,
Thomas Paine's Corner (TPC)
Peter Young Senior Editor of Direct Action
Thomas Paine's Corner (TPC)
Gary Yourofsky Senior Editor of Radical Vegan Outreach,
Thomas Paine's Corner (TPC)
Sylvain Lamoureux
Assistant Editor and IT Director,
Thomas Paine's Corner (TPC)
Loki Ryan
Assistant Editor,
Thomas Paine's Corner (TPC)
Vi Ransel
Senior Editor of Anti-Capitalism,
Thomas Paine's Corner (TPC)
Alison Banville UK Editor of Total Liberation,
Thomas Paine's Corner (TPC)
Kostas Alexiou
European Editor of Total Liberation,
Thomas Paine's Corner (TPC)
Astoria, Oregon: In an anonymous communique received by the North American Animal Liberation Press Office, animal liberation activists have taken credit for the destruction of Ylipelto Mink Farm in Astoria, Oregon. The farm has been the target of 2 previous raids by animal liberationists; the first occurred in October 2008, when 1,500 mink were released in a raid claimed by the “Vegan Straight Edge”. The second raid occurred October 4th, 2009, when 300 mink were released; at 1:23 AM that morning, a farmer reported to police that someone was “releasing her mink”, indicating the liberators were spotted in the act, but escaped un-arrerested. No group took credit for that raid.
The current communique reads, in full:
We delivered eight incendiary devices to the lovely folks at Ylipelto’s Fur Farm, at 92659 Simonsen Loop Road in Astoria on the morning of July 27th. It is nice to see that the enslavement, torture, and death of thousands of innocent creatures affords certain people luxuries like boats, nice cars, and various (expensive, no doubt) “farm machinery, and we were more than happy to alleviate them of these. A careful attack sent structures up in flame both in the front and rear of the property, simultaneously. We hope that this can leave an impression on our friends, Veikko & Eeva, that making such a living off of the subjugation of sentient creatures (for something as selfish and disgusting as the fashion industry, no less) will not be tolerated. We hope that others like them will also consider where their priorities lie (the nearby Wilkinson & Stunkard farms, to name a couple), and decide whether or not they’d like to be next. –Don’t think that you’ve be given a choice; your actions serve as your voice.
Owner Henry Pelto stated he awoke at 3 am to the sound of explosions, and found several pieces of equipment on fire. The owner revealed new information after the fire: after being targeted twice by activists, the Ylipelto farm shut down in December 2009.
This marks the second Oregon fur farm to apparently shut down after an animal liberationist raid. The S&N Fur Farm in Scio, Oregon was found to be empty in a summer 2009 investigation as part of the Fur Farm Intelligence Project (although there is conflicting evidence indicating the farm may still be open, or reopening in the near future). That farm was raided by the A.L.F. in September, 2008. Astoria is the largest mink farming town in Oregon, home to five known mink farms (and another possible farm that is unconfirmed).
Imprisoned in cages for life, fur-bearing animals are forced to endure intensive confinement, compared to the miles of territory these animals would enjoy in the wild – their natural state. The natural instincts of these captive animals are completely frustrated; self-mutilation, sickness, infection, poor sanitation and the sheer stress of confinement lead animals to premature death. When they survive, animals of sufficient size are killed by anal electrocution or gassing, then skinned. Whereas reports from the fur industry have surfaced that liberations were harmful to the animals, the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and other organizations have a long history of successfully releasing animals into the wild. In addition to liberating the wild animals destined for a certain, painful and agonizing death, another goal of liberationists is to cause economic damage to fur farms; dozens of fur farming operations have seen economic ruin since “Operation Bite Back” began by the ALF in the 1990s.
Contact: (818) 227-5022
Animal Liberation Press Office
6320 Canoga Avenue #1500
Woodland Hills, CA 91367
On Friday, March 13, 2009, Then 21-year old Jordan Halliday was taken into federal custody for refusing to cooperate with a federal grand jury investigating the animal rights community of Utah. He was held for nearly four months. On June 29th, 2009, Halliday was released from custody and federally indicted with felony “criminal contempt of court” for the same act of recalcitrance.
Grand juries are a threat to the rights of social dissidents and the rights of Americans generally. Grand juries ostensibly were established to be a curb on prosecutorial power but have instead resulted in greater misuse of prosecutorial power. Prosecutors have the unilateral power to subpoena anyone and compel them to answer questions under threat of imprisonment. At a grand jury, you have no Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. You also have no right to have an attorney present with you during the questioning. Grand juries almost always indict because no other side is allowed to present their argument against indictment.
This particular grand jury was allegedly established for the purpose of investigating mink releases in Utah. However, the questions asked of Halliday went far beyond inquests on criminal activity. The prosecution was clearly using the grand jury as a witch hunt to investigate the activities of animal rights activists generally. These tactics are employed to chill free speech activities and intimidate people from standing up for the rights of themselves and animals. Halliday is making a commendable principled stand for his refusal to cooperate with this abridgment of rights. He has committed absolutely no acts of violence or property destruction. The government has even expressed that he is not considered a suspect in the mink release or any other illegal activity. He is being charged with contempt simply because he refused to acquiesce to the abridgment of his First and Fifth Amendment rights. The government is criminally indicting him now with felony contempt of court to send a message to political activists that the weight and the authority of the government should not be resisted. This use of criminal law and federal subpoena power is a serious threat to our constitutional rights of free association, free speech, and against self-incrimination.
There will be a support rally for Jordan Halliday at 9 am on July 27th, 2010 at the Frank E. Moss Federal Courthouse (350 So. Main St.), preceding his Change of Plea Hearing at 10 am on the same day at the same address.
To receive periodic updates from Thomas Paine’s Corner (TPC) and Bite Club of KC (TPC’s “on the street” sister blog), send a request to willpowerful@hotmail.com
In May 2005, then FBI Deputy Assistant Director for Counterterrorism, John Lewis, told a Senate panel that ecoterrorism is “one of today’s most serious domestic terrorism threats,” the 2001 USA Patriot Act creating the crime of “domestic terrorism,” broadening the definition to apply to US citizens as well as aliens – henceforth, the Bureau dividing the crime into two categories, international and domestic, the latter changing dramatically in the past decade.
Then FBI’s Domestic Terrorism Section Chief, James Jarboe, said two organizations are principally responsible: the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and Animal Liberation Front (ALF), committing over 600 criminal acts since 1996, causing over $43 million in damage. Lewis cited over 1,100 acts since 1976, resulting in about $110 million in damages, and on June 30, 2008, the FBI used the same figure for over 2,000 crimes since 1979 – against “international corporations, lumber companies, animal testing facilities, genetic research firms,” and other companies harming the environment or animals, defining the crime as follows:
“the use or threatened use of violence of a criminal nature against innocent victims or property by an environmentally-oriented, subnational group for environmental-political reasons, or aimed at an audience beyond the target, often of a symbolic nature.”
The FBI calls ELF and ALF ‘loosely-organized movements whose adherents engage in crimes like arson, fire bombings, vandalism, intimidation, assaults, (and) stalking, etc.”
On their web sites, ELF says its “mission is to defend and protect the Earth for future generations by means of direct action,” nonviolent civil disobedience it calls “the moral road,” adhering to Hippocrates’ dictum, to “do no harm.”
Gets 10 years imprisonment for doing her job honorably, ethically.
Forgotten were Judge Koeltl’s October 2006 comments, calling Lynne’s character “extraordinary,” saying she was “a credit to her profession,” and that a long imprisonment would be “an unreasonable result.”
By Stephen Lendman
Friday, 16 July 2010
Describing Lynne Stewart, one of this writer’s previous articles said the following:
“She worked selfishly, tirelessly, and heroically for 30 years as a human rights champion, defending America’s poor, underprivileged, and unwanted – people never afforded due process and judicial fairness without an advocate like her. She knew the risks, yet took them courageously until bogusly indicted on April 9, 2002 for:
“conspiring to defraud the United States;
conspiring to provide and conceal material support to terrorist activity;
providing and concealing material support to terrorist activity; and
two counts of making false statements.”
Detailed information can be gotten from this writer’s previous articles, accessed through the following links:
Before I joined CALM Action, I helped coordinate a protest against the Shrine Circus. We wanted to show people that animals used in circuses were confined, physically and mentally abused, and murdered for cheap entertainment. So we made our signs, advertised the protest, and on the day of the circus, yelled and chanted outside the circus doors.
But what did we actually do to help animals? Well, we were able to make connections with other activists in the community. And the movement got a little morale boost. But in reality we did virtually nothing to stop animal cruelty in the circus. The circus arrived again the next year with no indication they had ceased any form of animal cruelty.
Gary Francione, well known Rutgers University law professor and animal rights philosopher, has written a piece on his blog explaining why violence should not be advocated nor employed in any attempt to advance animals’ rights.
Before I criticise his position, let me make it clear: I’m not advocating violence. We have to think our way out of utilizing violence. My current best effort at doing just this is the National Primate Research Exhibition Hall. But no matter how abhorent we might find violence to be, and no matter how kind and gentle we are and would like others to be, it isn’t the same as saying that violence wouldn’t work.
Franione has three parts to his argument:
1. The animal rights position is the modern expression of ahimsa.
2. There isn’t a fair way to determine who violence should be directed against.
3. Violence is counterproductive.
Francione dosen’t use the word ahimsa, but he describes it well enough. He writes, “the animal rights position is the ultimate rejection of violence. It is the ultimate affirmation of peace” and goes on to argue that:
Anyone who has ever used violence claims to regret having to resort to it, but argues that some desirable goal supposedly justified its use. The problem is that this facilitates an endless cycle of violence where anyone who feels strongly about something can embrace violence toward others as a means to achieving the greater good and those who are the targets of that violence may find a justification for their violent response. So on and on it goes.
Neighbor of HLS customer exec threatens protest videographer…..
To receive periodic updates from Thomas Paine’s Corner (TPC) and Bite Club of KC (TPC’s “on the street” sister blog), send a request to willpowerful@hotmail.com
A number of us attendees of ARC 2010 did some home “demoing” on 7/17/10 and 7/18/10. We visited the houses of some executives of companies who were foolish enough to invest in the murderous entity known as Huntingdon Life Sciences. The war against HLS continues….
Home Protests - It’s when you go to their home with 40 activists and 3 megaphones and get loud about the fact that they have invested in a company that is killing 500 animals every day! “THE COPS IN WASHINGTON LEAVE US ALONE – SAY NOTHING AT ALL – AND DRAG THE NEIGHBOURS AWAY FROM US!” Extremely Powerful Feeling To Be Apart Of This…..
“We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering.
You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime.
We shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender!”
~ {excerpts from Winston Churchill, 1940}
To receive periodic updates from Thomas Paine’s Corner (TPC) and Bite Club of KC (TPC’s “on the street” sister blog), send a request to willpowerful@hotmail.com
This is Big, Big proof people by reputable sources
In Part two of our hard hitting ATSNews Special Report: “SEX, DRUGS, MUSTANGS, CORRUPTION and BP TOO”, ATSnews’ Mark Allin (AKA: Springer) and 17 time Emmy Award Winner, KLAS 8 News Now (Las Vegas, NV) Investigative Reporter, George Knapp discuss the unbelievable corruption, sex and drug parties and payola schemes that transpired between the MMS and several Big Oil Companies. The Inspector General of the U.S. investigated the “Culture of Substance Abuse and Corruption” that ran rampant through the Denver Office of the MMS and several big oil companies from 2002 through 2006. The U.S. Taxpayer was bilked out of hundreds of millions of dollars, the environment was utterly neglected, the affected areas populations were at great risk (and still are), all for the betterment of a handful of Big Oil Companies’ bottom lines.
Post by Dominique Landis
7/21/10
This is beyond my expectations of the definition of corrupt; things are out of control. Big Oil and government corruption is rampant and in our face. The discovery of MMS and Big Oil in bed, literally, was not cleaned up in 2006. They just changed the players to distract the public. The public has been so complacent to not be continually outraged by what BP has done to our Gulf Coast and our NV communities, along with the other acts of environmental, economic and wildlife destruction. Killing our beautiful horses for pipelines, or for any reason, is the mind set of evil cattle ranchers and corporate oil munchers.
The government has lied to us big time for a long time about their intentions. They led the public to believe that we are moving forward with clean energy programs and embracing alternative energy sources, and that they are concerned with natural habitats, wildlife and the environment. It has finally been exposed what the truth has been (and suspected to be) all along. We cannot live in denial any longer and allow our horses to be slaughtered for oil, or our oceans to be polluted, or our planet and fellow humans to be raped of our natural resources and our tax dollars.
Here is a link to the Ruby Pipeline which has already been approved for BP to continue destroying our environment, our wildlife habitats and us. http://www.rubypipeline.com/
To receive periodic updates from Thomas Paine’s Corner (TPC) and Bite Club of KC (TPC’s “on the street” sister blog), send a request to willpowerful@hotmail.com
