Tuesday, December 19, 2006

http://activistcash.com

activistcash.com
Learn a bit more about Baykeepers' parent - the Waterkeeper Alliance... Excerpts below.
(Look up by organization, foundations, celebrities and key players)

The genesis: "The Waterkeeper Alliance has declared war on America’s pork industry, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is in charge of the battle plan. Officially, Waterkeeper is a coalition of more than 80 “neighborhood watch” programs for America’s rivers, bays, and shorelines. But this is thin political cover for the real coalition here -- one of big-money trial lawyers (many of them still counting their tobacco-settlement fees) who see billion-dollar payouts where most consumers see ribs, ham, and bacon."...

"It’s abundantly clear that money makes the world go ‘round for this group of Kennedy-led ambulance chasers. The world of class-action torts and nuisance lawsuits is based on the simple premise that attorneys get paid on “contingency” -- that is, they pocket a percentage of whatever a judge or jury awards their clients.

Kennedy’s legal dream team has loads of experience with this model. Among the products whose manufacturers they’ve sued: tobacco, diet drugs, asbestos, genetically improved crops, and diabetes medications.

The Waterkeeper Alliance will insist until pigs fly that their raisons d’etre are clean water and the environment, but consider this: every state, without exception, already has regulations in force mandating environmental standards for hog farmers. All pork producers, both big and small, must follow the law. If Kennedy really believed that America’s environmental laws weren’t being enforced, or weren’t strict enough in the first place, he would be suing the Environmental Protection Agency for better enforcement, or lobbying various state legislatures for tougher standards. And Kennedy wouldn’t need to build a war chest from 15 different law firms to get it done.

The problem with these approaches is that there’s no money in them. Suing the government sometimes gets results, but it seldom makes anyone rich. For much the same reason, Kennedy probably won’t bother suing any pork producers whose bank accounts aren’t big enough to attract the big-time trial lawyers in his corner. This kind of lawyering targets only the ripest fruit. It’s called extortion by litigation, and the Waterkeeper Alliance is raising it to a high art form.

15 comments:

  1. Oh no, Rose has found a new Jonestown.

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  2. ActivistCash.com, a project of the Center for Consumer Freedom, provides the public and media with in-depth profiles of anti-consumer activist groups, along with information about the sources of their exorbitant funding.

    Despite their innocent-sounding names, many of these organizations are financial Goliaths that use junk science, intimidation tactics, and even threats of violence to push their radical agendas. We've analyzed over 500,000 pages of IRS records to bring you a comprehensive snapshot of where their money comes from, tracking more than $800 million to date.

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  3. Reviewed and interpreted through rightwing conspiracy nut goggles. Thanks for the unbiased information.

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  4. True, the leftwing conspiracy nut goggles aren't going to say anything critical of any activist group. You may disagree with their editorializing, but do you dispute the information about the funding sources?

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  5. like Baykeeper is unbiased information

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  6. "do you dispute the information about the funding sources?"

    Nope, but bring me back to the relivance here?

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  7. I value the integrity of the BayKeeper far more than Rose.

    BTW - ever see one of the pork farm factories?

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  8. The reality is that the editorial is right on target. You will not see the WaterKeeper Alliance go after an individal producer, because that individual doesn't have deep enough pockets. And let's be real here. What is the true agenda? Just as HSUS has admitted....is it that these organizations don't want the American public to eat meat? In all reality, if you look at the real numbers, on a case by case basis, by states, the real polluters are the individual city and municipal water water treatment facilities that have failures, breaks, spills and bypasses and discharges everyday. Why aren't they going after them?

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  9. Have you ever aksed the Baykeeper?

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  10. Gee - looks like Richard is back.

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  11. "In all reality, if you look at the real numbers, on a case by case basis, by states, the real polluters are the individual city and municipal water water treatment facilities that have failures, breaks, spills and bypasses and discharges everyday. Why aren't they going after them?"

    That may have been true 20 years ago but wastewater treatment plants are not the source of pollution you think they are. In most cases they release water that is cleaner than the environment it is released into. Non-point source pollution is the big problem now. A problem we are all contributing to.

    As far as going after municipalities check out Riverwatch. They have already sued many municipalities and others in the area, settled and left town. All without a peep from media.

    They're MO is very different. If all Baykeeper wanted was money they would have done the same.

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  12. Baykeeper is going to have a chance to live up to your pretense. Giving your guys business cards with the title "litigation consultant" isn't fitting with your little scenario.

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  13. Sorry, not 'my' guys.

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  14. How much did the "settle" for?

    "Kennedy has recruited lawyers from 15 national law firms, most in states where hog farming has a significant presence. One such attorney, Richard H. Middleton, Jr., is the immediate past president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (and still runs the trial lawyers’ Political Action Committee).

    Each firm has committed itself to an initial $50,000 ante, which is pocket change compared to the size of the awards these lawyers are hoping for. In January of 2001, Kennedy himself estimated potential “damages” against the pork industry at $9-13 billion. If they prevail, the lawyers will keep a huge percentage for themselves."


    Sounds like an ambulance chasing PYRAMID scheme... is this practice still going on?

    Did any of the 'lawyers' associated with "Humboldt Baykeeper" have to ante up? Or are they being paid? How much? By whom? Where does the funding come from? Which grantmaking organizations support their activities here?

    Who are the local members of "Baykeeper"? (One anonymous post-er says there are 700 members) When do they meet? Who makes the decisions? When? At the meetings? Do the members get a vote?

    Lots more questions.

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  15. Practice what you preach Baykeeper-Open-ness, Trans-parency!

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