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Old May 15, 2004 | 11:45 am
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HeHateY
 
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Angry Ashcroft dusts off "sailor mongering" in his war on dissent

(Involves the arrival of a freighter-ship, which is DHS/TSA jurisdiction, so yes it deals with travel safety/security)

Greenpeace faces law of the ancient mariner
By Michael Christie, in Miami
May 15, 2004

Greenpeace, charged with the obscure crime of "sailor mongering", which was last prosecuted 114 years ago, goes on trial on Monday in the first US criminal prosecution of an advocacy group for civil disobedience.

The environmental group is accused of sailor mongering because in April 2002 it boarded a freighter that was carrying illegally felled Amazon mahogany to Miami. It says the prosecution is revenge for its criticism of the environmental policies of President George Bush, whom it calls the "Toxic Texan".

Sailor mongering was rife in the 19th century, when brothels sent prostitutes laden with booze onto ships as they made their way to harbour. The idea was to get the sailors so drunk they could be whisked to shore and held in bondage, and a law was passed against it in 1872. It has been used in a court of law only twice, the last time in 1890.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/...289890950.html

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