From: mhulsey@hestia.fcs.uga.edu (Martin Hulsey)
Subject: Re: Book Review - "Free the Animals!" by Ingrid Newkirk
Followup-To: talk.politics.animals,alt.activism,rec.food.veg
Organization: Dept. Foods & Nutrition, Univ. of GA
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 13:23:32 GMT

In article <1993Jan21.003554.4255@cs.mun.ca>, ac@riemann.math.mun.ca (Alka
Chandna) wrote:
> 
>[...]
> 	Ingrid Newkirk's latest books has all the components of a high-paced 
> suspense: bone-chilling intrigue, convoluted conspiracy plots, scrapes with the
> law, high-priced lawyers...

I'm curious.  Does she mention the part about when Taub's monkeys were
"stolen" from Lori Lehner's basement, and she denied knowing anything about
it?  Did she mention that when the judge didn't buy it, and threatened her
and two other PETA executives with $10,000 fines and jail, the monkeys were
miraculously found and returned?

>[...]
>In "Free the Animals", Newkirk takes on what is
> unarguably the most controversial aspect of the animal rights struggle: the >workof the vigilante Animal Liberation Front (ALF).

No argument here.  I believe that history will record PETA's support for
ALF terrorism as its biggest mistake.

> What makes Newkirk's work especially
> compelling is the courage, conviction and compassion with which she writes.

This makes me want to puke.  She is supporting terrorists who have no
regard for human life or property.  There is nothing courageous about that.

>[...]
>Acute noxious stimuli -
> pain - (was to be applied) to various parts of his body.  The pain was applied
> with a pair of surgical pliers clamped onto the monkey and locked to the 
> tightest notch.  The stimulus previously used was the open flame of a >cigarette lighter."

This is a distortion of Taub's methods.  The noxious stimuli were applied
*only* to the monkey's deafferented arm to verify that they could not feel
any pain there.

>What she doesn't anticipate is the overturning of the
> guilty verdict by a higher court, based on the federal source of Taub's 
> grants (since he received federal monies, he was not bound to observe state
> anti-cruelty laws).

Did Ingrid mention that Taub's sole conviction of 119 original charges was
for an alleged infection in one monkey that did not exist?  Did she mention
that the prosecutor withheld a pathology report clearly stating this fact? 

Of course, she forgot to mention that the jurisdictional technicality was
not the sole issue in the Appeals Court's opinion.

>[...]
> Many sabotages,liberations & thefts later...

Do you really support this activity?

>[...]
>Saving you the boot camp
> experience and the flight fare to Britain, Newkirk offers you the nuts and
> bolts information on how to actually carry out a raid.  The purpose of these
> helpful hints on everything from surveillance techniques to night-vision 
> eyewear is spelled out quite clearly in the epilogue, as Newkirk cheers the
> work of the ALF and calls for even more actions.

Does she promise to provide, at PETA's expense, legal fees for your defense
when your butt lands in jail?

--
mhulsey@hestia.fcs.uga.edu (Martin G. Hulsey)
Neuroscience, NRA-ILA, SSIB, NAASO, IASO
Xref: sparky talk.politics.animals:11824 alt.activism:21489 rec.food.veg:12643