Tuesday September 2, 2008, 9:06 am
The controversial pre-trial detention for a group of 9 austrian animal
rights activists has been lifted today, following an order of the
appelate court.

Since the end of may the 9 activists (one had been released earlier)
have been charged with "Forming a Criminal Organization," under �278a
StGB of the austrian penal code. The Appelate court explained that there
is still a danger of commiting further crimes, but the pre-trial
detention cannot be upheld if the expected penalties are in no relation
to it.

The second reason for detention, danger of suppression of evidence is by
law limited to two months, which have long expired.

The first activists have been set free already.

Source: http://wien.orf.at/stories/304601/

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 9:07 am
Now you see what works???? Make a cause LOUD!!!! Austrian gov has been scared by latest media infos and maybe by the Global Day
They would have been free 100 days before - in the same way

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 9:24 am
Thank you Hans for all your hard work!

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 9:31 am
JOANNA WITHOUT YOU I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ON THIS SUBJECT!
So thank you and all the people who have helped them! No matter how!
Its great to see that a loud voice is still enough to make things work!
Now my next fight is against the countries that kill like Japan, Canada, Iceland Norway and so on....Its great to see that we can make a difference!

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 9:36 am
Thank you,Hans.God bless.

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 9:37 am
Please note the news and forward - make it our Care2 Global Solidarity News With The Austrian Ten

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 9:39 am
Thanks for Naresh!! He was working on this as well!
Thank you Naresh for all your work and the great demo in India!
Thank you all 270 friends who joined Care2 VGT group

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 9:42 am
Thank you Alf for hosting the group with us.
Thank you all members for your comments - I don't write the names as I don't want to miss anybody.

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 9:45 am
Thanks for all the hard work and never ending emails everyone. Great news for these 10.............

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 10:12 am
Yipee! Best news I have heard in a long time. Freedom at last. Thanks to everyone for all their help. I am so glad I was part of it. Big thanks to you Joanna, Hans and Naresh for all the hard work you all put in this. This has really paid off. Noted with hapiness. My best to the activists.

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 10:13 am
You all kick ass, ty for all your work, you are the greatest friends anyone could ask for!
we're right there with ya Hans!!
ty Joanna!!

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 10:26 am
WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR
WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR
WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR
WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR WUNDERBAR

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR HELP! Its great to see that we can make a difference that is
what i learn from this victory! I hope that the Austrian animal laws will continue to be the
best in the world! Maybe animal rights will be in the constitution today there has been a protest in front of the parliament for this...

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 10:27 am
Wonderful news!!

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 10:31 am
das war aber höchste Zeit !!!!
fantastico !!!!!

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 10:33 am
Excellent!

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 10:45 am
I knew with a sustained effort that they would have to listen. I gotta say I sent off so many emails my wrists got sore but I'd do it again tomorrow for people wrongly held. I'd do it for any of you.

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 10:46 am
Yea! At least a few good people have been vindicated today. Thanks, Joanna for posting this, and thank to Sheila for passing the message along. :)

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 10:51 am
Good news, indeed.

TY, Joanna.

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 11:05 am
VERY GOOD NEWS, wonderful, beautiful. I have already send all my friends this good news!! I will put this into my shared-messages too. Thanks Hans, Joanna and everybody...I am so happy!!

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 11:37 am
I don't know anything about your orginization, since I am in the US, but if you fight for animal rights...I wish you lots of luck.

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 12:06 pm
http://wien.orf.at/stories/304601/
110 Tage U-Haft
Tierschützer wurden heute freigelassen
St. Pölten, 02. September 2008

Die Oberstaatsanwaltschaft ordnete die Enthaftung der Tierschützer an, die im Verdacht stehen, eine kriminelle Organisation gebildet zu haben.
Die Oberstaatsanwaltschaft(OStA) Wien hat im Zuge der Überprüfung einer Haftbeschwerde und nach Fallerörterung mit Vertretern der zuständigen Staatsanwaltschaft Wiener Neustadt diese angewiesen, die Enthaftung der Tierschützer des "Vereins gegen Tierfabriken" zu beantragen, die seit Ende Mai unter dem Verdacht in U-Haft sitzen, eine kriminelle Organisation gebildet zu haben.

"Würde das morgen wieder machen"
Gleichermaßen erleichtert und gezeichnet von 110 Tagen U-Haft präsentierte sich Martin Balluch, der als Hauptverdächtiger der wegen Bildung bzw. Beteiligung an einer kriminellen Organisation monatelang festgehaltenen Tierschützer gilt, am Dienstagnachmittag unmittelbar nach seiner Enthaftung vor dem Wiener Landesgerichtlichen Gefangenenhaus. Die gegen ihn gerichteten Vorwürfe bezeichnete er als "völlig nicht nachvollziehbar".

Balluch kündigte an, seine Tierrechts-Aktivitäten auf jeden Fall fortsetzen zu wollen: "All das, was ich gemacht habe, ist vollkommen legal! Ich habe nichts eingeschlagen, nie etwas beschädigt, zu keinen Verbrechen aufgerufen! Das, was ich gemacht habe, würde ich morgen wieder machen!"

Schwere Vorwürfe gegen Polizei
Martin Balluch, der Obmann des "Vereins gegen Tierfabriken", erhob schwere Vorwürfe gegen die Polizei. Diese hätte bewusst gegen ihn ermittelt und Aussagen, die übers Internet Verbreitung fanden, aus dem Kontext gerissen, sagte der Tierrechts-Aktivist unmittelbar nach seiner Enthaftung: "Die Polizei stellt es so hin, als hätte ich etwas Strafbares gemacht."

"Polizei wollte Verdachtslage konstruieren"
Er widme sich seit elf Jahren eingehend dem Tierschutz. Natürlich habe er "ab und zu eine radikale Meinung geäußert". Im Hinblick auf das Recht auf freie Meinungsäußerung sei das aber zulässig, meinte Balluch. Ihm nun beispielsweise den Satz "Ich freue mich über den Ruin der Tierindustrie" zum Vorwurf zu machen, sei demgegenüber "ein Wahnsinn": Die Zusammenhänge, das, was er vorher und nachher gesagt habe, fehle in den Akten vollständig. "Der Satz ist einfach aus dem Kontext gerissen worden", betonte Balluch. Die Polizei habe offenbar eine Verdachtslage konstruieren wollen.

Die Polizei mache ihm weiters zum Vorwurf, seinen Computer verschlüsselt und haufenweise Datenmaterial gesammelt zu haben. Auch darin sei nichts Unrechtes zu erblicken: "Die Akten und Daten, die vielleicht zu einem halben Prozent auch Informationen über kriminelle Fälle enthalten, muss ich als Tierschutzexperte haben!" Er bzw. sein Verein hätten niemals gegen die Gesetze verstoßen.

Auf die Frage, wie es ihm im Gefängnis ergangen sei, erwiderte Balluch: "Es war ein Wahnsinn! Ich kann das gar nicht in Worte fassen." Er sei 110 Tage lang unter falschen Anschuldigungen der Freiheit beraubt worden, sei jetzt das Sonnenlicht gar nicht mehr gewohnt. Die nunmehrige Freilassung sei für ihn "völlig überraschend" gekommen: "Ein Wärter ist auf mich zugekommen und gesagt, ich soll meine Sachen z'sammpacken und kann jetzt gehen."

U-Haft steht in keinem Verhältnis zum Srtafausmaß
Es bestehe zwar nach wie vor Tatbegehungsgefahr, doch dürfe die U-Haft nicht fortgesetzt werden, "wenn sie zu der zu erwartenden Strafe außer Verhältnis steht." Genau davon geht die OStA im gegenständlichen Fall offenbar aus. Der zweite ursprünglich geltend gemachte Haftgrund der Verdunkelungsgefahr ist durch das Gesetz mit zwei Monaten begrenzt. Diese Frist ist längst abgelaufen.

Die OStA macht darauf aufmerksam, dass mittlerweile wesentliche Beweismittel sichergestellt und nun auszuwerten sind, "so dass eine Inhaftierung der Beschuldigten als Maßnahme zur Sicherung des Verfahrens nicht - mehr - erforderlich ist".

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 12:08 pm
The Appelate court explained that there is still a danger of committing further crimes, but the pre-trial detention cannot be upheld if the expected penalties are in no relation to it. The second reason for detention, danger of suppression of evidence is by law limited to two months, which have long expired.

As you see they are still terrorists for Austrian gov...

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 12:17 pm
from http://www.wikileaks.org/wiki/Category:Whistleblowers/Austria

Detention on remand terminated for all animal welfare activists.

Today the senior public prosecutor surprised in Vienna with a press statement: All 9 remaining animal rights prisoners will be released immediately.

Meanwhile the prisoners are already set free. They were received at the prison gates by family members, acquaintances and friends.

The press statement by the senior public prosecution office declared that after a discussion with the public prosecutor's office of Wiener Neustadt, that office had been ordered to apply for the immediate release of the animal welfare activists. This instruction was justified with the fear that the duration of the custody would become disproportionate.

"A heavy stone has been lifted from my heart and I feel relieved that now finally some move was made" stated Harald Balluch, managing director of the non-governmental organization ASSOCIATION AGAINST ANIMAL FACTORIES. "Since now the detention in remand prison was terminated, one can say that the most severe part of our state of emergency is over"

"But despite this, the ongoing threat for any civil society engagement remains. The allegation of having formed a criminal organization, has not been dropped yet, and if this legal construct would become a precedent, such would have vast consequences for a whole range of organizations of the civil society. All who engage themselves for animal welfare, the protection of the environment, human rights or else, still would be endangered to be accused under such suspicions, spied on and finally dragged before a court of law or imprisoned."

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 12:23 pm
Victory...
yes but for ten innocent people
not for animal rights activists
and for sure not for human rights
Austria scum!

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 12:26 pm
I have just received a message from an insider who thinks that they will try even harder now!
This is not over yet....but it is good that justice is back in Austria! I am not afraid that anyone of them can be charged! The complete lie about a criminal organisation has fallen apart!
The green party will try to get rid of 278a for these kind of organisations....278a should only be used for real criminal organisations and terrorists!

Lets hope that they can cary on the good work now and receive everything back!

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 12:32 pm
Noted and sent globally.....one step at a time and persistence in the truth!

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 12:52 pm
If it will be still in media I don't think they will be charged.
I wish what Hans says will hapen. 278a for criminal organisations and terrorists! And I don't repeat "real" because then police should be included.
But I'm not so optimistic...
Just watch UK

Animals rights activists are no terrorist! They have the same rights like other people - to speak aloud about all animal cruelty, demand to stop animal cruelty, liberate animals and defend their lives.

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 1:30 pm
WONDERFUL NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 1:42 pm
So happy that they were released, and glad it's over for their families. I wish there was something we could do to make Austria understand how animal rights activists feel about their cause. A pat on the back to all of you who worked so hard to make sure they stayed front page. Thanks, Joanna.

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 2:14 pm
Thank you so much for letting us know. This is wonderful, wonderful news!!!

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 3:24 pm
people can achieve wonderful things when they unite their efforts.

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 4:17 pm
kudos to all that helped them ( special stars & hugs for joanne , hans & alf ) .... tho the fight must continue as they still may be tried for starting a " criminal" organization this potentially affects all animal human and other rights groups & the right of free association in general that law is a bit anschluss-esque .( a bit more oppressive than what "w" has successfully pushed thru or to use more euro-style example hitler was nearly finished with the transition from chancellor to dictator before issuing this type of law)

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 5:03 pm
TY Lucien

From Paula (VGT):
I don't have many facts to add to what everybody here has already managed to find out. Most importantly, all of them are back with us again. They are pale and have lost weight, apart from J�rgen who seems to have increased in size!

We just had a big meal at the veggie Chinese restaurant here in Vienna. All of them are massively impressed with the international support. Felix can't stop thanking everyone, Martin is doing a press conference with Pilz and the Greens at 11 a.m. today (Wednesday) and Elmar is dying to get on his mountain bike and do a long tour. Chris, who is at home at the other end of Austria, is of course thrilled.

Stefan Traxler, the lawyer who has worked free of charge for many of the prisoners was also with us this evening and it was wonderful to breathe a long sigh of relief and to look around the restaurant and to be able to see them back where they belong.

But, it's not over. the investigations are still going ahead and it could still come to a trial. As you know by now, the reason they were released is that the length of the remand custody was considered to be becoming too long in relation to the serioousness of the crimes being investigated. We can suppose that Pilz revealing the background to the case and the Greens taking Martin as a candidate influenced the situation a great deal. There has been uninterrupted coverage in the media since these events. The order from the senior prosecutors to the Wr. Neustadt prosecutors to release them came unofficially of course from Berger.

What a great day!
Paula

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 5:07 pm
This is soo fantastic!!!! Thank you for sharing such good news...It seems sometimes that so little good news is available, this is excellent.... Yayyyyyy for them and everyone involved in appealing for their freedom!!!

Warm regards and best wishes to everyone :o)

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 5:09 pm
A special thanks to Joanna and Hans!!!! infinite green stars!!!!! :o)

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 6:00 pm
AWESOME...WHAT GREAT NEWS. YOU GUYS HAVE DONE SOME GREAT WORK HERE.

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 9:02 pm
Awesome....so I leave these quotes in honor of one small battle won...one in many to come..but in hopes that one day all humans will open their eyes...

God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved the birds and invented cages. ~Jacques Deval, Afin de vivre bel et bien


We have enslaved the rest of the animal creation, and have treated our distant cousins in fur and feathers so badly that beyond doubt, if they were able to formulate a religion, they would depict the Devil in human form. ~William Ralph Inge, Outspoken Essays, 1922


From beasts we scorn as soulless,
In forest, field and den,
The cry goes up to witness
The soullessness of men.
~M. Frida Hartley


The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but rather, "Can they suffer?" ~Jeremy Bentham


I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it. ~Abraham Lincoln


Personally, I would not give a fig for any man's religion whose horse, cat and dog do not feel its benefits. Life in any form is our perpetual responsibility. ~S. Parkes Cadman


No one in the world needs a mink coat but a mink. ~Murray Banks


Never wear anything that panics the cat. ~P.J. O'Rourke


Cruelty is one fashion statement we can all do without. ~Rue McClanahan


Ever occur to you why some of us can be this much concerned with animals suffering? Because government is not. Why not? Animals don't vote. ~Paul Harvey


Support your right to arm bears. ~Cleveland Amory (Thank you, Leslie.)


Why should man expect his prayer for mercy to be heard by What is above him when he shows no mercy to what is under him? ~Pierre Troubetzkoy


Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight. ~Albert Schweitzer


Hunting is not a sport. In a sport, both sides should know they're in the game. ~Paul Rodriguez


Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. ~George Orwell, Animal Farm


Cockfighting was illegal in Oklahoma until 1963, when a judge ruled that chickens are not animals and therefore unprotected by anticruelty laws. ~U.S. News & World Report, 6 December 1999


Animals give me more pleasure through the viewfinder of a camera than they ever did in the crosshairs of a gunsight. And after I've finished "shooting," my unharmed victims are still around for others to enjoy. I have developed a deep respect for animals. I consider them fellow living creatures with certain rights that should not be violated any more than those of humans. ~Jimmy Stewart


If we cut up beasts simply because they cannot prevent us and because we are backing our own side in the struggle for existence, it is only logical to cut up imbeciles, criminals, enemies, or capitalists for the same reasons. ~C.S. Lewis


Michael W. Fox, vice-president of the Humane Society, said that, "to call an animal with whom you share your life a 'pet,' is reminiscent of men's magazines where you (a figure of speech, don't take it personally) have the Pet of the Month." It is supposed that the continued use of the word "pet" to designate dogs or cats threatens to reduce their level of respect to the current status of twentieth century North American women. Now that's radical. ~The McGill Red Herring


People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs. ~Author Unknown


Though boys throw stones at frogs in sport, the frogs do not die in sport, but in earnest. ~Bion, "Water and Land Animals," Plutarch


The squirrel that you kill in jest, dies in earnest. ~Henry David Thoreau


Drinking without being thirsty and making love at any time, Madame, are the only things that distinguish us from other animals. ~Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, The Marriage of Figaro, 1784, translated


I ask people why they have deer heads on their walls. They always say because it's such a beautiful animal. There you go. I think my mother is attractive, but I have photographs of her. ~Ellen DeGeneres


When a man wantonly destroys one of the works of man we call him a vandal. When he destroys one of the works of god we call him a sportsman. ~Joseph Wood Krutch


The fascination of shooting as a sport depends almost wholly on whether you are at the right or wrong end of a gun. ~P.G. Wodehouse


If you love animals called pets, why do you eat animals called dinner? ~As seen on a shirt at veganstore.com


The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to the other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creatures that cannot. ~Mark Twain, What Is Man, 1906


Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow-creatures is amusing in itself. ~James Anthony Froude, Oceana, 1886


The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men. ~Alice Walker


As often as Herman had witnessed the slaughter of animals and fish, he always had the same thought: in their behaviour toward creatures, all men were Nazis. The smugness with which man could do with other species as he pleased exemplified the most extreme racist theories, the principle that might is right. ~Isaac Bashevis Singer


Life is life - whether in a cat, or dog or man. There is no difference there between a cat or a man. The idea of difference is a human conception for man's own advantage. ~Sri Aurobindo


When I was twelve, I went hunting with my father and we shot a bird. He was laying there and something struck me. Why do we call this fun to kill this creature [who] was as happy as I was when I woke up this morning. ~Marv Levy


Those who wish to pet and baby wild animals "love" them. But those who respect their natures and wish to let them live normal lives, love them more. ~Edwin Way Teale, Circle of the Seasons, 1953


It is just like man's vanity and impertinence to call an animal dumb because it is dumb to his dull perceptions. ~Mark Twain


The woods were made for the hunters of dreams,
The brooks for the fishers of song;
To the hunters who hunt for the gunless game
The streams and the woods belong.
~Sam Walter Foss


Animals can communicate quite well. And they do. And generally speaking, they are ignored. ~Alice Walker


Lisa: "Do we have any food that wasn't brutally slaughtered?"
Homer: "Well, I think the veal died of loneliness."
~Matt Groening, The Simpsons



Cruelty must be whitewashed by a moral excuse, and pretense of reluctance. ~George Bernard Shaw


In an earlier stage of our development most human groups held to a tribal ethic. Members of the tribe were protected, but people of other tribes could be robbed or killed as one pleased. Gradually the circle of protection expanded, but as recently as 150 years ago we did not include blacks. So African human beings could be captured, shipped to America and sold. In Australia white settlers regarded Aborigines as a pest and hunted them down, much as kangaroos are hunted down today. Just as we have progressed beyond the blatantly racist ethic of the era of slavery and colonialism, so we must now progress beyond the speciesist ethic of the era of factory farming, of the use of animals as mere research tools, of whaling, seal hunting, kangaroo slaughter and the destruction of wilderness. We must take the final step in expanding the circle of ethics. ~Pete Singer


Get a feel for fur: Slam your fingers in a car door. ~Anonymous, on the use of steel traps to capture fur-bearing animals, cited in Audubon, November 1990


Dogs are getting bigger, according to a leading dog manufacturer. ~Leo Rosten


Whether hunting is right or wrong, a spiritual experience, or an outlet for the killer instinct, one thing it is not is a sport. Sport is when individuals or teams compete against each other under equal circumstances to determine who is better at a given game or endeavor. Hunting will be a sport when deer, elk, bears, and ducks are... given 12-gauge shotguns. Bet we'd see a lot fewer drunk yahoos (live ones, anyway) in the woods if that happened. ~R. Lerner, letter, Sierra, March-April 1991


Heaven is by favor; if it were by merit your dog would go in and you would stay out. Of all the creatures ever made [man] is the most detestable. Of the entire brood, he is the only one... that possesses malice. He is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain. ~Mark Twain


Evolutionary biology is now uttering and seeking those forces that link us with all those that have being. If we can discover the meaning in the trilling of a frog, perhaps we may understand why it is for us not merely noise but a song of poetry and emotion. ~Adrian Forsyth, A Natural History of Sex, 1986


Vivisection is a social evil because if it advances human knowledge, it does so at the expense of human character. ~George Bernard Shaw


I am not interested to know whether vivisection produces results that are profitable to the human race or doesn't.... The pain which it inflicts upon unconsenting animals is the basis of my enmity toward it, and it is to me sufficient justification of the enmity without looking further. ~Mark Twain


The basis of all animal rights should be the Golden Rule: we should treat them as we would wish them to treat us, were any other species in our dominant position. ~Christine Stevens


If a group of beings from another planet were to land on Earth - beings who considered themselves as superior to you as you feel yourself to be to other animals - would you concede them the rights over you that you assume over other animals? ~Attributed to George Bernard Shaw


When a man wants to murder a tiger he calls it sport; when the tiger wants to murder him he calls it ferocity. ~George Bernard Shaw


The animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren; they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth. ~Henry Beston, The Outermost House, 1928


I abhor vivisection with my whole soul. All the scientific discoveries stained with innocent blood I count as of no consequence. ~Mahatma Gandhi


I had bought two male chimps from a primate colony in Holland. They lived next to each other in separate cages for several months before I used one as a [heart] donor. When we put him to sleep in his cage in preparation for the operation, he chattered and cried incessantly. We attached no significance to this, but it must have made a great impression on his companion, for when we removed the body to the operating room, the other chimp wept bitterly and was inconsolable for days. The incident made a deep impression on me. I vowed never again to experiment with such sensitive creatures. ~Christian Barnard, surgeon


Terms like that, "Humane Society," are devised with people like me in mind, who don't care to dwell on what happens to the innocent. ~Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams


I think animal testing is a terrible idea; they get all nervous and give the wrong answers. ~Author Unknown


Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar. ~Bradley Millar


A Robin Redbreast in a cage
Puts all Heaven in a Rage.
~William Blake, Auguries of Innocence


If a ferret bites you it is nearly always your own fault. ~Phil Drabble


The human spirit is not dead. It lives on in secret.... It has come to believe that compassion, in which all ethics must take root, can only attain its full breadth and depth if it embraces all living creatures and does not limit itself to mankind. ~Albert Schweitzer, Novel Peace Prize address, "The Problem of Peace in the World Today"


People must have renounced, it seems to me, all natural intelligence to dare to advance that animals are but animated machines.... It appears to me, besides, that [such people] can never have observed with attention the character of animals, not to have distinguished among them the different voices of need, of suffering, of joy, of pain, of love, of anger, and of all their affections. It would be very strange that they should express so well what they could not feel. ~Voltaire, Traité sur la tolerance


Zoos are becoming facsimiles - or perhaps caricatures - of how animals once were in their natural habitat. If the right policies toward nature were pursued, we would need no zoos at all. ~Michael Fox, Sierra, November-December 1990


The assumption that animals are without rights and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality. ~Schopenhauer


Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages. ~Thomas A. Edison


To a man whose mind is free there is something even more intolerable in the sufferings of animals than in the sufferings of man. For with the latter it is at least admitted that suffering is evil and that the man who causes it is a criminal. But thousands of animals are uselessly butchered every day without a shadow of remorse. If any man were to refer to it, he would be thought ridiculous. And that is the unpardonable crime. ~Romain Rolland, Nobel Prize 1915


When it comes to having a central nervous system, and the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy. ~Ingrid Newkirk


Very little of the great cruelty shown by men can really be attributed to cruel instinct. Most of it comes from thoughtlessness or inherited habit. The roots of cruelty, therefore, are not so much strong as widespread. But the time must come when inhumanity protected by custom and thoughtlessness will succumb before humanity championed by thought. Let us work that this time may come. ~Albert Schweitzer


Deer hunting would be fine sport, if only the deer had guns. ~William S. Gilbert


Because the heart beats under a covering of hair, of fur, feathers, or wings, it is, for that reason, to be of no account? ~Jean Paul Richter


God made all the creatures and gave them our love and our fear,
To give sign, we and they are His children, one family here.
~Robert Browning


Deliberate cruelty to our defenceless and beautiful little cousins is surely one of the meanest and most detestable vices of which a human being can be guilty. ~William Ralph Inge


The indifference, callousness and contempt that so many people exhibit toward animals is evil first because it results in great suffering in animals, and second because it results in an incalculably great impoverishment of the human spirit. All education should be directed toward the refinement of the individual's sensibilities in relation not only to one's fellow humans everywhere, but to all things whatsoever. ~Ashley Montague


Wear your own skin. ~As seen on a shirt at pangeaveg.com


There will be no justice as long as man will stand with a knife or with a gun and destroy those who are weaker than he is. ~Isaac Bashevis Singer


The life spark in my eyes is in no way different than the life spark in the eyes of any other sentient being. ~Michael Stepaniak, quoted in Joanne Stepaniak, The Vegan Sourcebook, 1998


We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty to make the whole world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace. ~Albert Schweitzer, The Philosophy of Civilization


If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men. ~St. Francis of Assisi

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 10:40 pm
Congratulations ;))) FREUE MICH RIESIG....at least it shows that if we work together for a good cause and do not give up ... things can change. But also it seems very important now to continue on this road. Big hug to ALL involved.

Tuesday September 2, 2008, 11:25 pm
FINALLY!!!!!!!
Special thanks to Hans Joanna Alf Dusty Naresh for your never ending input and thank you all for emailing,signing the petitions,joining the protests in different countries, and sending letters of support to the activists.
AustriaSolidarity.com :
We are all overwhelmed and extremely pleased and wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your kind support over the last couple of months. Every letter, petition and demo you participated in has had a direct impact on the campaign to demand justice for the TEN and is greatly appreciated! Many thanks!

We will no doubt be in touch with more info, in the meantime if you organised a demo on the next Global Solidarity Day (this Friday, 5th September) we hope there's enough time for you to inform others as well.

Wednesday September 3, 2008, 1:38 am
How about the protestday on September 5 everything still as planned or with a new stop 278a credo! Since they are free now? This is the topic for the big demo in Vienna on Saturday!
I guess the AR groups will show that they are not giving up.....Like Joanna and all of you did!
Thank you all green stars for all of you!

Wednesday September 3, 2008, 1:53 am
Hans has send so many invites to the groups that some people have asked him to delete them from a list that they are not even on.......
Hans has started a funny search for the meaning of groupie listing.....

A Care2 member hat written him to request him the following:

It is really annoying to be getting junk mail every day from Care2 requesting me to join groups. RI seem to be connected to some groupie listing you have with your friends. Please remove my name from your listing. No offence to you.

But the interesting thing is that woman is not on his Friends list and not on your friends list to?????

She is not what i call a passionate supporter like all of you!

Maya Walsh definitely deserves more friends everybody deserves more friends!
Maybe she will help us fight our next fight ....who knows....
http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/Groupie she has even her own group in Care2 dedicated to all the groupies here in Care2!

Funny that even Alf has asked Hans why he started so many groups for the Austrian ten....
Well its simple its just because of the invitations that Mary Walsh has been complaing about!
There is no better way to send a message to all your friends...thats why i also would like as many friends as Hans! Only the friends have achieved this for the Austrian Ten!
They do not know it but Martin Balluch and the other 9 prisoners had thousands of real friends in the past 110 days! AR Groupies ROCK!

Wednesday September 3, 2008, 3:14 am
At last!
Wonderful,wonderful news!

Wednesday September 3, 2008, 5:29 am
If you want to thank one of the people who made this possible

http://www.care2.com/news/member/257054012/867025

Please do me a favour and thank our Friend Peter Pilz who has played a very important role to end this scandal of justice and who will also fight the next round! Going after the people who are responsable for this mess. The more he hears from us the harder he will go after Platter and friends.....

It would be great if he would hear from us how much we appreciate what he did!

Send your e mail to pilz@gruene.at or peter.pilz@gruene.at

Thank you for all that you have done to get them free!

What should we do to those who are responsable.....110 days in an animal shelter?


Hans

Wednesday September 3, 2008, 9:01 am
Great news....thanx God but who will be responsible for the period as our 10 friends spent in Police custody & what about damage to their reputation & sufferings.....Is there any law in Austria to teach lesson to the responsible....????? Any way this is a great relief for me , thanx a ton for this good news & 5th demo canceled now in India.
Naresh Kadyan

Wednesday September 3, 2008, 9:50 am
Right at the bottom of this page
http://heute. at/news/index. php#
 

from the Austrian 'Heute' newspaper on the right you will find a section where you can vote about your opinion on the prisoners' punishment. The options are as follows:

1. yes, way too hard. Out of all proportion
2. I think serious crimes should carry heavier penalties
3. No, the punishment was justified. Bomb-throwers (!) should be punished
4. I have no idea as I don't know the case

I agree, the wording is strange. But, this newspaper has been writing amazingly strongly for their release for some time now and it intensified at the end of last week to a point where they were carrying a feature everyday with pics demanding thier release.

Wednesday September 3, 2008, 10:22 am
Finden Sie abgesessene Strafe der Tierschützer zu hart?

Ja, auf jeden Fall. Das steht in keinem Verhältnis zu anderen Verbrechen.
77.31%
Naja, ich bin eher dafür, dass man für schwerere Delikte noch härter bestraft wird.
3.99%
Nein, die Strafe war gerechtfertigt. Bombenwerfer gehören bestraft.
15.46%
Keine Ahnung, der Fall ist mir nicht bekannt.
3.24%

Wednesday September 3, 2008, 10:41 am
Pressekonferenz DDr. Martin Balluch 3.9.2008
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=yIkmbR5L_9g

Wednesday September 3, 2008, 10:48 am
We hardly ever mentioned it but it's important to know that the ten prisoners where people from a few orgs not only VGT.
There is an interview with Jurgen from Four Paws
J�rgen Faulmann (39), international campaigns director of the animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS, was released from prison yesterday, where he had been on remand for three months. Here, he answers some of the main questions directed at him and FOUR PAWS.

How are you feeling today?
I�m still fairly tired. I am also constantly surprised by emotional outbursts, particularly as a reaction to media coverage of the release. It is good to know that so many people support us. In prison, you try and suppress all the emotion so you make it through. Now I guess it all has to come out.

Do you know why you were arrested?
As one of the most prominent and active members of the animal welfare movement I obviously provided a wonderful target for those who want to criminalise animal welfare using a law set up to protect against mafia-style organised crime.

Do you suspect political or economic motives behind the arrests?
Both, unfortunately. Some of the connections have already been uncovered by the media and some politicians. The proof is there: economic interests, predominantly a certain clothing chain, joined forces with members of the executive branch to damage the legal animal welfare movement � with the tacit support of some politicians.

What is your opinion of criminal acts within the animal welfare struggle?
For me, I draw the line at civil disobedience. I do not believe in committing criminal acts.

Do you see yourself as a political prisoner?
It is unacceptable that in a democracy a part of civil society can be criminalised at the request of certain economic interests. It is now paramount that an investigation take place into how and why such an assault on civil liberties and legitimate public interest organisations could take place.

Do you foresee being charged with anything?
It very much depends on the way the so-called �anti-mafia� paragraph is interpreted. If they choose to apply it according to its original purpose there will be no charges. If, however, they continue to abuse the letter of the law for their own ends then there is a risk I will be charged. If that happens, every charitable organisation in Austria is in danger of being labelled criminal � along with all its supporters.

Will you be taking legal steps?
FAULMANN: At the moment I am concentrating on finding a way back into normal life. There is a lot to deal with emotionally, which will take a lot of strength. My lawyers are examining the case, so I�m afraid I can�t say much more at this stage.

What are your plans for the next few weeks?
FAULMANN: I�m going to spend the weekend with my friends and family and try to make up for lost time. On Monday I will go into the office and concentrate on catching up on work for a week, before its off to the Adriatic Sea for some sailing. My greatest wish at the moment is to take advantage of the freedom. And it has been too long since I was able to pursue my real passion � hiking in the mountains and enjoying nature.

Wednesday September 3, 2008, 1:25 pm
That's awesome news. Great job everyone!

Thursday September 4, 2008, 12:48 pm
Good news, indeed!

Saturday September 6, 2008, 9:14 am
Vielen dank für die großartigen Nachrichten! Ich habe mich sehr darüber gefreut!

Saturday September 6, 2008, 8:32 pm
Awesome News!