[Gunnair]

Guy_Fawkes Guy_Fawkes:

What about the ramming of other ships? Do the people of those other ships deserve to die?

I dunno. Have they? Has he sunk their ships?

[jeff744]

CDN_PATRIOT CDN_PATRIOT:

I actually have respect for Mr. Watson, on the grounds that he has the balls what most governments wont do - stand up to the people that are illegally killing species after species. How many more ocean-going species have to be extinct before more people step forward and take action?

I'm not saying I'd be next to jump on his ship and help wage war on the whalers, but it's refreshing to see someone go against the normal groove and actually do something, rather than sit on a couch and complain about things.

The guy has drive and determination and fights for a cause he cares about. Nothing wrong with that.

-J.

If this is about whaling then he is actually concentrating on the wrong issue, normal fishing is what needs to be controlled currently while whaling is actually increased to allow fish populations time to increase to stable levels. Right now whale levels are going up, while due to overfishing and growing whale populations the fish populations are dropping.

Watson deserves no respect, he has openly claimed to have sunk ships and if you watch even a single episode of Whale Wars (one was all I could stand) you would see how great of a risk he puts his own crew and the Japanese crews in. Respect the people following the laws, not the ones that consider themselves to be outside of them.

[jeff744]

Gunnair Gunnair:

Guy_Fawkes Guy_Fawkes:

What about the ramming of other ships? Do the people of those other ships deserve to die?

I dunno. Have they? Has he sunk their ships?

$1:

As of 2009, Paul Watson has said that the organization has sunk ten whaling ships while also destroying millions of dollars worth of equipment.[19] Their practice of attacking and sinking other ships has led to reports of injuries to other sailors as well as the Sea Shepherd crew, including concussions and complications from chemical attacks.[20][21]

Wikipedia

[Gunnair]

jeff744 jeff744:

Gunnair Gunnair:

Guy_Fawkes Guy_Fawkes:

What about the ramming of other ships? Do the people of those other ships deserve to die?

I dunno. Have they? Has he sunk their ships?

$1:

As of 2009, Paul Watson has said that the organization has sunk ten whaling ships while also destroying millions of dollars worth of equipment.[19] Their practice of attacking and sinking other ships has led to reports of injuries to other sailors as well as the Sea Shepherd crew, including concussions and complications from chemical attacks.[20][21]

Wikipedia

Ack. Kill anybody yet?

I guess making a citizen's arrest of a pot smoker by holding him down till the cops come would be kind of similar.

[jeff744]

Gunnair Gunnair:

Ack. Kill anybody yet?

I guess making a citizen's arrest of a pot smoker by holding him down till the cops come would be kind of similar.

Luckily he hasn't killed anyone that I know of, but with his record it is only a matter of time until somebody is killed. The tragedy is that until somebody does die nothing major will likely be done to end this group of terrorists.

More comparable would be holding somebody down while they were in the middle of a string of armed robberies doomed to end in the death of at least one innocent person.

[Gunnair]

jeff744 jeff744:

Gunnair Gunnair:

Ack. Kill anybody yet?

I guess making a citizen's arrest of a pot smoker by holding him down till the cops come would be kind of similar.

Luckily he hasn't killed anyone that I know of, but with his record it is only a matter of time until somebody is killed. The tragedy is that until somebody does die nothing major will likely be done to end this group of terrorists.

More comparable would be holding somebody down while they were in the middle of a string of armed robberies doomed to end in the death of at least one innocent person.

What do you propose replaces Watson and his terrorists then? And I wonder, if you're terrorizing someone doing an illegal activity, is it still really the bad kind of terrorism?

[jeff744]

Gunnair Gunnair:

jeff744 jeff744:

Gunnair Gunnair:

Ack. Kill anybody yet?

I guess making a citizen's arrest of a pot smoker by holding him down till the cops come would be kind of similar.

Luckily he hasn't killed anyone that I know of, but with his record it is only a matter of time until somebody is killed. The tragedy is that until somebody does die nothing major will likely be done to end this group of terrorists.

More comparable would be holding somebody down while they were in the middle of a string of armed robberies doomed to end in the death of at least one innocent person.

What do you propose replaces Watson and his terrorists then? And I wonder, if you're terrorizing someone doing an illegal activity, is it still really the bad kind of terrorism?

How is what the Maltese were doing illegal? Stupid maybe, but not illegal. The same goes for Japanese whaling research, Canadian sealing, Japanese tuna, Norwegian whaling, and other groups they attack. Sea Shepherd is the one breaking the law, not the people trying to make a living by providing the basic necessities to their population.

Tell me, how are Japan, China, and the Koreas supposed to survive without any access to fishing?

[Gunnair]

jeff744 jeff744:

Gunnair Gunnair:

jeff744 jeff744:

Luckily he hasn't killed anyone that I know of, but with his record it is only a matter of time until somebody is killed. The tragedy is that until somebody does die nothing major will likely be done to end this group of terrorists.

More comparable would be holding somebody down while they were in the middle of a string of armed robberies doomed to end in the death of at least one innocent person.

What do you propose replaces Watson and his terrorists then? And I wonder, if you're terrorizing someone doing an illegal activity, is it still really the bad kind of terrorism?

How is what the Maltese were doing illegal? Stupid maybe, but not illegal. The same goes for Japanese whaling research, Canadian sealing, Japanese tuna, Norwegian whaling, and other groups they attack. Sea Shepherd is the one breaking the law, not the people trying to make a living by providing the basic necessities to their population.

Tell me, how are Japan, China, and the Koreas supposed to survive without any access to fishing?

Japanese whaling is illegal. I have little grief with Sea Shepard going after them. As for the rest, if they are in fact conducting legal activity, then Sea Shepard should be taken to task.

[jeff744]

Gunnair Gunnair:

Japanese whaling is illegal. I have little grief with Sea Shepard going after them. As for the rest, if they are in fact conducting legal activity, then Sea Shepard should be taken to task.

Japanese whaling is listed as research, and by law is therefore legal, they also run within internationally decided quotas in which they have little say and have never reached them. The legality of their membership in the International Whaling Commission is also debatable as the US forced to to sign it under threats that they would lose fishing rights in some American regions, after Japan signed the treaty they were blocked from the US regions anyways and have no legal way of exiting the treaty.

The only reason Japan has to call it research is because they were swindled out of a major industry by the US, otherwise their actions would also be completely legal.

[PublicAnimalNo9]

Gunnair Gunnair:

Ack. Kill anybody yet?

I guess making a citizen's arrest of a pot smoker by holding him down till the cops come would be kind of similar.

Watson has interfered in rescue efforts of overboard crew, as well as ignored SOS's from whaling ships when he was the closest vessel and ignored SOS's from other ships because he was too intent on catching up to a whaler.
I can appreciate someone with the courage to act upon their convictions, but I find his actions to be highly questionable when it comes to the pursuit of his convictions.

[Gunnair]

PublicAnimalNo9 PublicAnimalNo9:

Gunnair Gunnair:

Ack. Kill anybody yet?

I guess making a citizen's arrest of a pot smoker by holding him down till the cops come would be kind of similar.

Watson has interfered in rescue efforts of overboard crew, as well as ignored SOS's from whaling ships when he was the closest vessel and ignored SOS's from other ships because he was too intent on catching up to a whaler.
I can appreciate someone with the courage to act upon their convictions, but I find his actions to be highly questionable when it comes to the pursuit of his convictions.

Fair enough.

[Barilko]

Classic eco-hippie idiot/assholes screwing up as per SOP.

[DrCaleb]

jeff744 jeff744:

The only reason Japan has to call it research is because they were swindled out of a major industry by the US, otherwise their actions would also be completely legal.

The only reason they call it 'research' is because it's illegal to hunt whales anywhere, but if the whales that are taken for purposes of 'research', then the meat can be sold. That being said - what are the mating and breeding habits of these whales? How old do they live? What do they eat?

All questions we don't know the answer to, and answers that can only be found by rearch that doesn't kill them.

What the Japanese whaling fleet is doing is illegal. They simply justify it in the name of 'research't that they aren't doing.

[Prof_Chomsky]

I can’t help but laugh at radical bloggers calling Watson a radical.
No doubt the guy is an egomaniac that operates on the fringes of the law. But you need to ask yourself why he is still not in jail. The reason is the people he is ramming, harassing, and other wise being a nuisance to are also breaking the law and they know it. He goes after people who exploit loop holes in international treaties, or outright break the law with impunity knowing that there is no international naval force that can police international waters.

Is he personally a douchbag? No doubt there. But the illegal and marginal activities of the people he is actively trying to suck profits out of so they are financially unable to continue are no better, and that’s why he is still a free man. You can’t cry foul that the prostitute you were trying to rape stabs you. I for one think we need more people like Watson. Especially given we live in a world where money wins over what is right 99% of the time.

[PublicAnimalNo9]

Prof_Chomsky Prof_Chomsky:

I can’t help but laugh at radical bloggers calling Watson a radical.
No doubt the guy is an egomaniac that operates on the fringes of the law. But you need to ask yourself why he is still not in jail. The reason is the people he is ramming, harassing, and other wise being a nuisance to are also breaking the law and they know it. He goes after people who exploit loop holes in international treaties, or outright break the law with impunity knowing that there is no international naval force that can police international waters.

Is he personally a douchbag? No doubt there. But the illegal and marginal activities of the people he is actively trying to suck profits out of so they are financially unable to continue are no better, and that’s why he is still a free man. You can’t cry foul that the prostitute you were trying to rape stabs you. I for one think we need more people like Watson. Especially given we live in a world where money wins over what is right 99% of the time.

So he should be applauded for ignoring SOS's from ships that have nothing to do with whaling because he's on a personal "mission"? He can be a douchebag all he wants, it affects me not. But what's he's also doing is putting innocent people's lives at risk in pursuit of the application of his morals upon others.
And finally as much as some people wish it was, commercial whaling is not illegal. The IWC has no formal authourity nor does the ICRW bind anyone to it that isn't a signatory. Any country that didn't join or opted out later on, is not bound in any way by IWC legislation.