Sea Shepherd is great--Greenpeace isnt.

Wishy washy corporate environmentalists. They are against whaling BUT its ok when its done by the greedy Makah. Seal clubbing is bad except when its done by greedy Inuit.

Sea Shepherd challenges human supremacy myths, greenpeace doesnt.

The entire human enterprise is doomed!

Urging all to donate to Sea Shepard.

They need to be afloat every season every year disrupting the hunt until it is no longer profitable for the fleets to leave Japan.

Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace are at the leading edge of environmental activism and deserve our support. Their actions speak louder than words. Please contribute. Our environment is everything.

If someone climbed uninvited onto my ship, after it was made clear they aren't welcome...I wouldn't need to tie them to anything, they'd be treading water when I kicked them off the side.

Paul Watson is well known as a liar. During the Makah whaling, he was stating things like the Makah were going to catch whales to sell. Turns out to be a complete lie. The Makah asked about this because it is a TREATY RIGHT, but were told that they could not.

Paul Watson at the time also allied himself with two anti-environmentalist and heavily racist politicians, Slade Gorton and Jack Metcalf. Slade is from the Gorton Fisheries family that is known to get their catch from industrial trawlers which lay waste to fisheries and miles of ocean floor every year, something I have NEVER heard Paul watson talk about. Paul Watson is racist and sexist in my opinion in having followed the mans career, as it were, and talking with some of his former crew members as well.

Paul is not above lying, like claiming to have received the mame Gray Wolf Clearwater from Wallace Black Elk. Wallace told Ward Churchill that he not only never gave any such name, but would have never given a man two names.

Paul in my opinion doesn't care about whales. If you listen to the man lecture, you will notice that Paul Watson cares only about one thing...Paul Watson. That man is so in Love with himself, it about makes one sick, other than those that buy his megalomania hook line and sinker. I recently hosted a call in radio show about the recent Makah hunt and a former member of the man's crew called in and supported what I had to say about Paul.

Also, during that program, a person called in and said they had visited one of the ships and that all of his crew members were pretty cool. Then the great Paul and some of the ilk like those currently in the hands of the Japanese whaler came on board and were to good to treat these lowly heathens as human beings.

Paul Loves a good drama that brings him, the great Paul Watson more attention and more suckers to give him money to continue his BS anti-whaling which really does nothing more than bring him, the great Paul Watson attention.

As far as that Makah whaling statement made in the first post, the Makah got their whale quota from Indigenous Russians to the amount of 120. The Makah were allowed 5 a year from that quota for 5 years. Having taken only 1 during that 5 years session, I believe that means that 119 whales were not hunted. My numbers may be off here as I believe there were other factors.

However, the Norwegians, Janapese, indigenous Russians, Indigenous Alaskans, etc., took hundreds of not THOUASANDS of whales during this time, but nothing brings out the racist in white America and white Identified America like the Makah whale hunt. You all don't care about whales nor the environment, you care about heroes that do nothing for either and will spout your racist rhetoric in order to prove your point, which turns out to be meaningless and useless.

As far as the two men are concerned, I doubt anything Paul has to say other than those men were taken by the whalers aboard the ship, and then I question that as well. They, too, like Paul, are more interested in what stories will be told about them than any actual saving of whales, not doubt in my mind.

Also, I've heard UNSUBSTANTIATED rumor that women crew members have been raped aboard these ships. I believe this to be true, but no one has come forward to the best of my knowledge with any testimony. I believe this to be true because during the tree sits in the Northwest, alleged lefty males were constantly raping their women comrades in their camps, often repeatedly. Sadly, the women took these rapes by such alleged leaders in the alleged environmental movement for the cause, as it were. So we know that such things happen on the LEFT (as well as the right) and the potential is there for the Sea Shepherd society as well. Take notice, if you will, its cultish behavior. The only person on the crews that is allowed to speak is...you guessed it...the great Paul Watson. And knowing Paul well enough, I believe it is safe to say that Paul will never say anything bad about himself, true or not.

I don't want to boat around the Arctic Circle, go to prison for protesting or face the wrath of Japanese whalers. I do contribute money to Greenpeace and am very thankful that they have members willing to make the enormous sacrifices.

There is no way Greenpeace condones Inuit whaling or seal clubbing. They merely have picked their battles. It is quite disgusting to me that certain native groups are exempt from laws prohibiting whaling and other horrendous practices, but I wouldn't blame Greenpeace. I'm sure they have a full agenda.

Australia says Japan orders whale activists freed
Tue Jan 15, 2008 5:12pm EST
CANBERRA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Japanese authorities have ordered the release of two anti-whaling activists being held after trying to board a Japanese whaling vessel in the Southern Ocean, Australia's government said on Wednesday.

Australian Benjamin Potts and Briton Giles Lane, from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society vessel Steve Irwin, boarded the Japanese whaling ship Yushin Maru No. 2 late on Tuesday to tell the crew they were illegally killing whales.

Australia's Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Australian diplomats in Tokyo had asked the Japanese government to seek the immediate and safe release of the pair. "Late last night I was advised that the Japanese had agreed to this and they have instructed the relevant whaling ship to return the men to the Steve Irwin," Smith told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSSYD50794

Foster's it's Australian for Beer! :)

Pacplyer,
Really? So a group that openly says...

"We will hound these poachers for as long as we can and when we catch up with them we will disable their equipment and do everything physically possible short of inflicting injury on the crew in order to stop their illegal activities."

With THAT group I am REQUIRED to let them on board, even though they are NOT in distress? Just because they CHOOSE to leave a ship, get in a dingy and harass another ship with the stated intend to do damage?!?

Not saying the whalers are doing the right thing by hunting these whales, but the protesters get NO sympathy in my book. It's thuggery and intimidation, plain and simple...that's not right on either side.

I don't have any problem with sustainable whaling, per se, but right now in Japan there is so little demand for whale meat, that the Japanese whalers and the Japanese government are colluding for the sole purpose of benefitting a corrupt industry. Currently, they're trying to force this toxic-laden meat on the retirement homes--and schools--as the whaling industry is so desperate to get rid of the tons of supply of whale meat that are going to waste. That said, the actions of the two crew members of the Sea Shepherd are in violation of international law. The Japanese are NOT in violation of any international law, and they are within agreements under IWO rules. But remember, IWO agreements are not international law--the Japanese could pull out any time and hunt whales legally without the guise of whale research.

It seems that many of the comments above are miss-informed. First: no one has ownership rights over the whales. Second - murdering a species which has a higher relative amount of grey matter in their cortex than humans seems to defeat any humane argument in support of murder. It seems quite clear that with the state of environmental disaster increasing, humans should take a break from destruction, which includes the killing of animal species that have greatly decreased in the last century due to human intervention. It would be hard to believe that any indigenous group of people would support any killing of any species where numbers dwindle. The understanding of many indigenous peoples is to preserve the balance of the natural world and uphold respect for all creatures. Killing whales is not within this scope of thought, for whatever reasons, nor slaughtering seals, or sharks, or dragging lines and scouring the ocean floor killing everything within its reach including the birds flying over head trying to eat their daily meal. Let us all try and use the cortex we have as a human species and think rationally as well as intuitively and start to figure out what living in balance is. There will be no 7 generations in the future if we do not learn how to work in solidarity with each other and with other living creatures. Thank you Sea Shepard for taking action in trying to stop the killings and bring attention to the general public. You are succeeding – look how many people read Common Dreams!

"It is quite disgusting to me that certain native groups are exempt from laws prohibiting whaling and other horrendous practices..."

I like this statement, jstevens. Seems that folks are always willing to pull out "the law" when it seems to benefit them. The "law" also states that treaties are the supreme law of the land. A treaty, when broken, means that condtions return to what they were prior to the signing of the agreement. Therefore, "the law" states that this is indigenous laws and that if you aren't indigenous, you are a member of illegal occupying forces. However, in this case, "might makes right." Genocide is a crime as well. Feh! Law, it is only good when it applies to other folks and not ourselves, eh!

Character means a lot, pacplayer. Example, the rapist tree sitters. Is it OK to you that they rape their women comrades if they are doing "the good work," as it were. I find it interesting that you explain away accusations of rape by simply stating; "dating tropical island girls just "checking for fit" is all, my dear." So, I guess rape is OK, if you are just "checking for fit," eh!

And, like I stated, Paul Watson cares nothing for whales. He says nothing and does nothing about industrial trawling. He says nothing and does nothing about military and industrial pollutants that destroy the environment of the whales he alleges to love. He is not out there to stop whaling, he is out there to make stories up that he is actually doing something, when he is not, so people will look to him as a guru. As a cult leader. And again, why are none of his crew seen talking? Why don't the cooks come out and talk about what life is like on those ships and how THEY feel about the work they are doing? What about the other crew members? The only voice you hear is Paul Watson. If you heard the voices of these other folks, you just might realize that Paul isn't as great as Paul likes to think he is. You just might realize that Paul could really give a rats ass about whales other than how they relate to the great Paul Watson.

Character is a big piece of the whole story, pacplyer. If you like to rape women, but are still "doing the work," you are not really doing the work. You are a rapist.

If you are a megalomaniac who loves attention more than your cause, you are not doing the work because your focus will be on what will bring you attention and make people think you are great without ever REALLY doing the work.

I meant to say that this is "indigenous land," not indigenous laws, in the second paragraph.

and what about the people of the faroe islands? no one mentions their despicable behaviour of herding the whales into a shallow bay and then clubbing them to death. i watched a documentary many years ago on this and was horrified to see people in range rovers driving down to the shore to partake in the murder of these defenceless creatures. horrible. if they could afford range rovers, they didn't need to eat whale meat.......

"Not saying the whalers are doing the right thing by hunting these whales, but the protesters get NO sympathy in my book. It's thuggery and intimidation, plain and simple…that's not right on either side."

Let's test that principle in a different set of circumstances and see how it holds up.
Suppose you're in a parking garage late at night and a gang of guys decides to rob you, beat you up, maybe more.
Some other guy comes on the scene and tells them they're breaking the law and he'll do everything he can to stop them -- you know, uses "thuggery and intimidation" to stop them and save you.
The bad guys overpower him and toss him off the roof of the parking garage.
Your sympathy lies with the bad guys?

Oh, but wait. The guy who tries to help you is a known drunk, a gambler, a philanderer.
So in order to intervene in a situation, it's not enough that the the good samaritan is trying to do a right thing, he also has to be a perfect and flawless human being? Or you'd not welcome their help?

Seems to me the logic here is a bit on the thin side.

And if Watson --- or anybody else -- is guilty of rape, let's support the victims so they can stand up and prosecute the bastard. But allegations aren't proof. Anybody can be accused of anything, and that kind of hearsay accusation is always used to discredit anyone who actively resists the status quo. Make any waves and you're a communist, or a drug abuser, or a kiddie porn fiend. Or (the current favorite) "terrorist."
Ad hominem attacks are an intellectually flaccid attempt to divert attention from the real issue.

Just my opinion.

Liberty & Justice,

SJ

www.spartacusjones.com

Sorry Spartacus, but you are assuming I apply the same rights to whales as I do to humans. To equate a whaling ship to a gang trying to rob another person, just isn't the same thing...apples and oranges.

Since you used an analogy about a mugging, lets try this analogy instead...

A group in your town doesn't like the way you live, or disagrees with something you do. They openly say that they will hound you, and when they find you, they plan to do physical damage to your house and property. One day, a group of them run up your walkway with signs declaring you are evil and knock on your door...would you just open the door and say "Hi, come on in". I don't think so!

Personally, I would protect my home and property.

I would argue that whales, like dolphins, are so intelligent and their existence so precarious that to harm any one of them is a crime.

However, if you want to believe that people are the only important species, please consider the balance of nature. If we continue to destroy species, (plant and animal) we will no longer have a planet which supports human life. We are really close to this point already. Who out there believes the Earth can take anything we dish out? The Earth has a limit.

The world would be a hideously ugly place without trees, grass, whales, but it would also be an uninhabitable place.

So are the Green peace people criminals? Not in my book.

When did I say "...people are the only important species..."? I didn't say anything of the sort...what I said was whales are not people. That's a LONG way from saying they aren't importatnt.

I'm not saying I don't agree with the GOALS of these groups to stop whale hunting, but I totally disagree with the METHOD they choose to do it. And yes, very often I do see Green Peace people as being just as wrong in their methods too.

qwijibo: I wasn't attributing the quote to you. I said that in the sense of : if one believes.

Do you remember the Pacific Northwest logging versus spotted owl debate?

The sentiment of many people was and is, that owls are less important than logging jobs.
Personally, I care about the owls for their own merit. But, even if I didn't, if we cut down forests, we don't just place owls in jeopardy, we place all of nature in jeopardy. We bring the Earth a little bit closer to being rendered uninhabitable.

It is a really basic concept. I am surprised that so many people don't understand it. However, I am not referring to you.

qwijibo - You are the type of person to whom no appeal for reason nor compassion will make a difference. For people like you living in a community of others, only enforceable laws will help protect the rest of us (people, animals and the fragile environment) from people like you. I take your point though, and I would be hesitant treading onto your ship. That's just how courageous these Sea Shepherd activists were in stepping onto the Nishin Maru 2, and those of us who are attuned to the needs of others and to the perils faced by this planet thank those two noble Sea Shepherd souls.

airwaterearth,
I'm sorry you can't see my point of view. Contrary to your opinion of me, I am quite capable of reason and compassion, but I'm also able to agree with someones GOALS and disagree with the METHOD they choose to achieve them.

For example, I think abortion is tragic, but I also recognize that I have no right to make that decision for another person. So you could say I agree with the GOAL that there be no more abortions, but I disagree with the METHODS Pro-Life groups use to force their wishes on others. Education and support would go ALOT further to help women than an angry mob or clinic bombing.

It appears from your post that you subscribe to "the end justify the means" mentality on this issue. Obviously we approach this issue from different perspectives.

Personal vendettas here against members of Greenpeace, the organization that has been on the forefront of raising environmental awareness are counterproductive. These are better addressed as personal matters that don't involve and hurt the organization that has done more to save cetaceans, stop ocean dumping, stop shipments of nuclear waste and fuel, that has protected seals and done more to get the public involved in halting these dreadful practices than any other I can think of.

Thank you Benjamin and Briton for your courage in protecting these magnificent creatures that can't speak for themselves. The extinction of whales, polar bears and many other species is accelerating rapidly. This is a war to save them. And all's fair in love and war.

Are you serious Ezflyer? "All's fair in love and war"? (Yes, I know it's just a famous quote, but I wanna make sure what you mean)

Are you saying any methods....ANY methods are OK to achieve the desired result of stopping these hunts?

Beluga whales that have beached themselves in the Aleutians have to be disposed of as toxic waste because of the high levels of contamination.

At least the Inuit use every last bit of the whales they are permitted by treaty to hun. It feeds an entire community and nothing is wasted. The pratice is sustainable both for human and whale in terms of conservation. Both groups are threatened by other factors.

Eugene Johnson you are a lying gutless coward. If you want to continue to spread lies about Sea Shepard and their activities why dont you go on the network of lying liars FoxNews and spread your misinformation.
FoxNews depends on lies and misinformation for all it's news shows.

The only rape going on is the corporate rape of the ocean. All these nebulous accusations about people clearly risking their lives for the environment is suspect. I think Eugene thou do protest too much. Nobody could fight all the causes you listed.

If Watson is raping people, don't you think that would come out in court when they got home?

I resent you twisting my humor of "checking for fit" as research into rape. That is taking my words out of context just as you seem to do with environmental causes

You are beneath contempt Eugene.