whale wars

[Ken Gargett]

some of you might have seen that one of the japanese whalers rammed and destroyed one of the anti-whaling protest ships. got a lot of publicity for a very short time here and seems now to be almost a non-event.

wondering if it got much publicity in other parts of the world?

[Loki]

I caught a few minutes of the show ONCE,

No never saw anything on the news in the states.

[reg]

Saw a bit of discussion over here, but not too much. I think the consensus is that the whalers are bad, but the anti-whalers are pretty bad too.

[DrunkenMonkey]

Saw a bit of discussion over here, but not too much. I think the consensus is that the whalers are bad, but the anti-whalers are pretty bad too.

I'm against the Japanese poaching, so I guess I'm an anti-whaler, as is anyone else who deplores the willful and blatant violation of international law that this whaling trade represents. Why exactly is that "pretty bad, too"?

[reg]

I'm against the Japanese poaching, so I guess I'm an anti-whaler, as is anyone else who deplores the willful and blatant violation of international law that this whaling trade represents. Why exactly is that "pretty bad, too"?

Go look up what those jackasses do. And by jackasses I mean the guys from that TV show, and the ones that got rammed in this instance. South Park did an episode on them this year

[Jakester]

I did see the video here in the U.S. As much as I don't approve of the commercial killing of whales (as opposed to the subsistence hunting permitted by natives), I believe it's quite a stretch to say the whalers "rammed" the protester's boat.

The video seems to clearly show that the whaling ship was under way on an established course, and that the protesters drove their boat directly in front it. The captain of the protester's boat claims he was trying to back away, but the video taken from the whaling ship seems to clearly show (based on the prop wash) that the protester's boat was in "forward" gear and that they simply drove directly in front of the whaling ship's bow, at extremely close quarters. Given the size and weight of the whaler's ship, there's no way a person, with any reasonable level of sailing experience, could reasonably expect that the whalers could have stopped their boat or changed direction in time to avoid a collision even if they wanted to. The video seemed to indicate to me that the captain of the protester's boat was either a) acting far too aggressively (actually, just plain foolishly), or simply made a mistake or lost control of his boat.

Perhaps I need to watch the video again, but it appeared to me that the whalers did nothing wrong and that the protesters bear full responsibility for the incident.

[jquest63]

First heard about it here on FOH.

[mkz]

A few lines in the swedish news... thats all I´ve seen...

[Ken Gargett]

Go look up what those jackasses do. And by jackasses I mean the guys from that TV show, and the ones that got rammed in this instance. South Park did an episode on them this year

i was more interested to see if it had been reported than to start what has to be one of those debates no one will win but i joined sea shepherd years ago as i strongly support the anti whaling lobby.

given that govts around the world have shown the usual spineless cowardice in dealing with this issue, more power to them as far as i am concerned.

should we just stand back and let this butchery continue?

[ucla695]

The picture of the broken Sea Shepherd boat and the harpoon ship it collided with made the front page of the LA Times today, but the article about the incident was on the fourth page. There were also stories about the accident on web...WSJ, Fox News, etc. CNN also had a story about it. I watch the series on Animal Planet and am glad that their cause is getting more publicity.

[Sandman]

I completely support their cause, but after watching Whale Wars, i will say that none of these people are even close to being professional mariners. They are always screwing up, and making clowns out of themselves, and hurting themselves. Takes them hours to launch a boat, almost running out of fuel, running the smaller boats way to fast for conditions. A bunch a hippies with no sea time under their belts, dosen't surprise me in the least that this happened.

[Bartolomeo]

One of my favorite shows........wonder if today's episode was being taped so it will show on Animal Planet?

Bart

[DrunkenMonkey]

Go look up what those jackasses do. And by jackasses I mean the guys from that TV show, and the ones that got rammed in this instance. South Park did an episode on them this year

I don't see harrassing criminals as all that terrible, but maybe they do some things other than that; things that make them jackasses. I will look into it. Should I start with this South Park exposé that you are referencing?

[reg]

I don't see harrassing criminals as all that terrible, but maybe they do some things other than that; things that make them jackasses. I will look into it. Should I start with this South Park exposé that you are referencing?

the "capain" shot himself and then blamed whalers...

and ken, of course we shouldn't ignore the slaughter of whales, but we need to find a more intelligent approach. what the sea sheperd guys do is obviously not helping at all, and just making things worse, as people are going to start to get hurt in addition to whales

[yossie]

I always wonder why people can't be logical/rational on the theme..

[DrunkenMonkey]

the "capain" shot himself and then blamed whalers...

He shot himself? This wasn't by any chance something you saw on South Park, was it?

[reg]

He shot himself? This wasn't by any chance something you saw on South Park, was it?

Please read up a bit on the organization, the show, and whatever his name is

[DrunkenMonkey]

Please read up a bit on the organization, the show, and whatever his name is

Yeah, I was trying to do just that. His name is Paul Watson. Can't find any reference to him shooting himself, though. That's why I asked where you learned about this.

So are all the others aboard jackasses, or just him? I'm trying to understand what it is that they have done, aside from harrassing criminals, that makes you say they are all jackasses. Shooting oneself would be, I agree, a jackass sort of thing to do, but I can't find any corroboration of this.

Anyway, I tend not to be supportive of vigilante actions normally, but in this case I think it's refreshing that someone has the stones to see something wrong and try to do something about it. I guess that makes me an admirer of jackasses.

[patman24]

Whaling has to stop. Paul Watson and company have more about it in one day than most countries have done in their history.

[reg]

Yeah, I was trying to do just that. His name is Paul Watson. Can't find any reference to him shooting himself, though. That's why I asked where you learned about this.

So are all the others aboard jackasses, or just him? I'm trying to understand what it is that they have done, aside from harrassing criminals, that makes you say they are all jackasses. Shooting oneself would be, I agree, a jackass sort of thing to do, but I can't find any corroboration of this.

Anyway, I tend not to be supportive of vigilante actions normally, but in this case I think it's refreshing that someone has the stones to see something wrong and try to do something about it. I guess that makes me an admirer of jackasses.

Him shooting himself is well documented I'm sure, you'll find it. The problem with the organization is their methods. They throw smelly rotten butter on the other boats and, as you see in the video, create very dangerous situations because they are not qualified in anyway to do what they are doing. Read the wiki page on watson, the guy is a tool.

I'm all for the cause, but these guys are doing NOTHING to help, except garner publicity, mostly negative. I suppose this might get people to help the cause though

[Ken Gargett]

the "capain" shot himself and then blamed whalers...

and ken, of course we shouldn't ignore the slaughter of whales, but we need to find a more intelligent approach. what the sea sheperd guys do is obviously not helping at all, and just making things worse, as people are going to start to get hurt in addition to whales

i undersand what you say but what is the more intelligent approach? sit down and chat? impose quotas that are broken, indeed laughed, at with impunity?

our previous useless government effectively did absolutely nothing, pretty much as all govts around the planet. it was heavily trumpeted by the spineless kevin rudd as something he would act on, during the election camapign in 07. apparently, the moronic public actually believed a politician and they were all in favour of it. of course, he has done nothing. even worse, despite the hot air and promises, the govt denies a visiting visa to anti-whaling activists. so much for all the support. i may be anti-gun but there are days when i would have no problem with anyone shooting every lying scumbag politician on the planet - can't imagine there'd be too many left. and for the next round, really would not lose too much sleep if i heard someone had followed up with anyone who could actually put a harpoon into a whale.

if we didn't have the occasional 'law breaker' like ghandi or mandela, the brits might still be ruling india and lord knows what would have happened in south africa.

calling these people hippies is so completely off the mark that it is ridiculous.

yoss, i am sure you and i are at odds on this but please elaborate on what you mean by logic/rational?

the info re the shooting - i took this from wikpedia -

Alleged shooting On March 17, 2008 Paul Watson said that he was shot by the Japanese crew or coast guard personnel during the campaign. The incident is heavily documented during the show in the final episode, and the first six episodes are covered as a buildup to what is portrayed as the major incident during the campaign. The footage in Whale Wars shows Watson standing on the deck of the Steve Irwin while Sea Shepherd crew throws glass bottles filled with non toxic butyric acid at the Nisshin Maru whaling vessel. Butyric acid was used for its foul odor and sticky properties. The Japanese respond by throwing flashbang devices. Watson is then shown reaching inside his jacket and bullet-proof vest and remarking "I've been hit." Back inside the bridge of the Steve Irwin, a metal fragment is found inside the vest.

The Japanese Institute of Cetacean Research has dismissed Sea Shepherd's statements as lies. The Institute and Coast Guard said that they used seven flashbang devices designed to flash and make noise in the air without causing harm.

Neither of the two conflicting accounts have been independently verified. The Australian Foreign Affairs Department had condemned "actions by crew members of any vessel that cause injury". Two media releases were made on the same day from the office. One said that the Australian Embassy in Tokyo had been informed by the Japanese that the whalers had "fired warning shots" while the updated version used the phrase "'warning balls' – also known as 'flashbangs' – had been fired".^"

for anyone interested or who does what to learn more, whatever your views, this was the email received very recently. they do like to up the fear and loathing but there is no doubt as to their commitment.

Emergency Update: From the Frontlines of the Whale Wars

Dear ken,

Our vessels and crews and have been ATTACKED! Lives have been threatened. A vessel has been destroyed. This day will go down in infamy.

We will not give up. We will not retreat. We will not surrender to those who want to do harm. We need your support today now more than ever.

Earlier today, our vessel the Ady Gil was severely damaged and almost sunk in a vicious and unprovoked attacked by a Japanese whaling harpoon vessel many times its size. The crew barely escaped with their lives and were rescued by our newest vessel the Bob Barker.

There is a battle between "David and Goliath." The illegal Japanese whalers are trying to physically harm and financially destroy your nonprofit whale defenders -- the Sea Shepherds. Show the whalers and the government of Japan that they cannot get away with this.

As I write, my valiant crews remain at sea, vigilant in their pursuit to stop the whalers. Our defense of the whales needs to continue in the Southern Oceans. We are their only hope.

Sea Shepherd is the only organization in the world directly intervening to save these magnificent and innocent beings but we cannot do it without you.

Please stand with us and click here to make a donation today or call 877-WHALES-911 (877-942-5379)* as we continue our fight in the coming days, weeks, months, year- whatever it takes.

From the bridge of the Steve Irwin, I thank you,

P.S. Due to the large number of people trying to access our website from all over the world, you may find that our main website pages load slowly, however, our donate page is operating well at this time. In the meantime, we are working to get our main website up to speed.

*To call from anywhere outside of the US or Canada, dial +1-416-645-4677.

[Ken Gargett]

extraordinary things! i may need to retract some of that. minutes after i posted the above, i heard that our govt has finally threatened some action. apparently it has given japan 6 months to take action to stop butchering whales or it will take legal action.

personally, i suspect it is merely something to try and get the public to think it is doing something and in 6 months we'll hear absolutely nothing more.

that said, fat chance the japanese govt will take the slightest bit of notice.

still, if it were not for the actions of these guys, whether you like them or not, we would not even have got this far.

[shrink]

I suppose I've been watching too many WWII documentaries, because I'd like to see the whalers and anti-whalers firing cannons, machine guns, and even torpedoes at one another. It would also increase the number of people viewing the shows, eh?

[cvm4]

I've seen the show... Captain Paul, I believe, is so stupid and has no regard for human life at all.

He'll go to all costs to save the whales. Sad really...

[Colt45]