Whaling ship 'ablaze after blast' (141 crew evacuated)

this is all so sick. :(

Then maybe whalers might have a second thought about hunting them.

...Two New Zealand Navy frigates, the HMAS Te Kaha and the HMAS Te Mana, which could reach the whaling vessel quickly, are heading north and will not be redirected to the area.

Your post bothered me, because your heading implied the NZ sailors were refusing assistance. Seamen would never leave other seamen to drown, or refuse a request for rescue. That is why you read earlier this week that the whaling ship was helping in the search for the missing Zodiac inflatable with the 2 Green Peace protestors. So I checked out the OP's link and was reassured to see that in fact, the New Zealand maritime folks were in contact with the ship's master (captain), but their aid was not needed.

A Maritime New Zealand spokesman has said the missing crewman could still be somewhere on the ship, or he could have been washed overboard. A distress call was sent from the 8000-tonne ship at 3.15am (AEDT) and since then the captain has been sending regular updates to the maritime body.

"We are standing by, talking to the master," the spokesman was quoted by NZPA as saying.

"At the moment he has got the situation under control so we are just seeing if he wants any assistance, either with the fire or the missing crewman."

Two New Zealand Navy frigates, the HMAS Te Kaha and the HMAS Te Mana, which could reach the whaling vessel quickly, are heading north and will not be redirected to the area.

I suspect the NZ govt gave permission for fishing rights but are willing to look the other way when the whalers are harassed while ...whaling...

I'm not on the side of the whalers but it seems to be somebody's jurisdiction of the sea is being ignored.
New Zealand should not allow whaling if doing so creates mischief.

It's been about 20 years since I took a course in Admiralty law, but basically individual countries can control the ocean and seabed within territorial limits - let's say 12 miles offshore from the lowtide line. There are no such limits in Antartica, since it is not a sovereign country. The Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959 by 12 countries. The treaty prohibits military activities and mineral mining, supports scientific research, and protects the continent's ecozone. Ongoing experiments are conducted by more than 4,000 scientists of many nationalities and with different research interests. So no country or private interest needs permission for fishing in the waters surrounding Antartica. There IS an International Whaling Commission which has extended an original 20 year moratorium on whaling, first adopted in 1986. However this is NOT an international treaty.

There are substantial constitutional limitations on the IWC's authority as to both lawmaking and compliance. First, the IWC is not based on international treaty, and therefore, any member countries are free to simply leave the organisation and declare themselves not to be bound by it if they so wish. Second, the IWC's power to "legislate" a moratorium or quotas is very restricted, because any member state may opt out of a quota or moratorium simply by objecting to it.<23> Third, the IWC has no authority or means to enforce any quotas, even on states that voluntarily put themselves under them.

This issue is a good example of where the US, under Bush, has abdicated the field of international diplomacy. As the only "super-power", and with many shared trade and investment interests with Japan, the US once-upon-a-time COULD have influenced Japan to honor the extended moratorium on whaling. But we have not.

The IWC, despite allowing Inuits to take endangered whales, refused to allow the Japanese to take ANY whales for commercial purposes, forcing them to do so under the auspices of "scientific research", forcing their position to become entrenched and at the same time losing any influence over the Japanese actions vis a vis whaling.

Only superpower. ROTFL. Did you mean Banana Republic Superpower of war and debt, owned by the global corporations, fear of NUK-U-LAR anything, China, India, and Saudi Arabia. Accidents happen; sometimes the whales win. No :dilemma:

The Ross sea is over 2,000 miles from NZ, and well outside NZ waters. The only reason we're involved is it is inside NZ's search & rescue region: We have to at least try to keep the peace, for safety reasons.

If NZ had the authority to say what happens that far out, there damn well wouldn't be any whalers. But these are still the "high seas" - largely unregulated, unadministered and unpoliced, so all we can do is grit our teeth and watch.

At least this years hunt seems to have come to an early close.

they'd just get sunk like the rainbow warrior.

Was the ship mined?

http://t2.images.live.com/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=1030199706397&id=6a9b8c9c7c445becf308e337aed76772

http://t3.images.live.com/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=1056838075106&id=ef08f7f9727e217fb03133f51917eba8


they were Mimed !

to make it appear someone you want a reason to go after has sinned against you, and has handed you justification for trying to destroy them any way you can, with the rest of the world standing by in compliance and approval, just the way the Joint Chiefs of Staff all signed onto Operation Northwoods in the 1960's, to use any of their schemes to launch a war on Cuba, after pretending Cuba had shot down some Americans on the streets, or had slaughtered some Cuban immigrants in boats, or even somehow sabotaged a space flight by John Glenn and got him killed.

Leaves you no choice, as they must be punished!

You sacrifice someone (never yourself, of course, as that's not the right-wing way of doing things) and set up your opposition for retaliation.

There is NO WAY one of the anti-whalers would kill anyone.

Any of us urban types that have watched Discovery's series on crab fishing in Alaska knows that accidents at sea are a common occurrence. That's a fact!

I am saying this to preempt those that will accuse Greenpeace of being responsible for Japan's unsafe whaling fleet.

Whales 1 Whalers 0

but if, say, an abortion clinic was protested daily for a month by people who had expressed a determination to burn it down, had thrown acid into the clinic, and tossed rocks at its windows, then one night the place went up in flames, it wouldn't be unreasonable for the police to suspect foul play, rather than say, an electrical fire.

I'm not saying this was foul play - I'm saying people who are suspicious of foul play aren't necessarily having a knee-jerk reaction.

And since the captain and crew haven't found a Greenpeace activist in their midst, tin foiling this fire will play into the hands of the environmental terrorists, aka Japanese whalers.

even though the protest had been halted.

Good. One more whaling ship that won't be out there hunting. I wish they'd all sink without injury to anyone, human or whale. I feel for the missing guy, and hope he'll be found alive, but the ship and the company and their whaling can go straight to hell.


Whale Tails (humpbacks) near Unalaska

You've inspired me to get out my photos of Alaska. I
was lucky enough to see a magnificent whale breach.
It was the top highlight of my trip, and believe me, there
were many highlights! This beautiful guy was showing off
for us. I never realized just how social whales in the wild are.

As I feel bad that someone may have died in this accident,
I can't help feeling disgusted with Japan, and relieved that
some whales are safe for the moment.

In the world...

I hope they get everyone off safely, and then the damn thing sinks!!!

If anyone is blaming the Sea Shepherd guys, it certainly isn't the Japanese press. It is NOWHERE. In fact, the recent encounters hardly made a ripple either.

But I must say, those of you who said "karma" are really shameless. This missing person (probably a mechanic, not an executive who has become rich off whale killing) has a mother and father and maybe wife and children who love him. He does not deserve death and you should be ashamed of yourselves for suggesting it.

Just because he's not an executive and getting rich doesn't make him any less guilty. His mother/father/wife etc should have talked him into finding different employment. He is killing for $$ even if it's not a great deal of $$. Hell that might even make it worse!

maybe he's a mechanic. Maybe a cook. Who knows?

But the notion that such people deserve to die is disgusting.

The notion that such people should be killing intelligent creatures that are in many ways like people is disgusting.

otherwise you are just as guilty of killing animals as he is.

And you probably know the answer to the question.

I meant to ask if he/she uses any product that requires an animal to die to produce. there are a lot of people on this thread bemoaning the killing of minke whales, which is fine, but how many are wearing leather shoes or belts? why does a Minke Whale have more right to exist than a cow or a pig? if killing a Minke Whale is murder, then you better not be wearing leather, all I am saying.

recipes. I do my best to avoid leather etc. In this society it's nearly impossible to avoid products produced from the suffering of animals but I do my best.

I don't actively war on the people that harm animals but I think about it. I guess in that respect I could be called a coward but I draw the line at committing criminal acts. Placing ones ocean going craft between the criminal whale killers and their prey in the open sea is NOT a criminal act and I would actually enjoy that, but I do not have the means to do so.

I have no problem with that, kudos. I do have a problem with someone wearing a leather coat telling me that killing Minke Whales is tantamount to murder.

Think "Perfect Storm". The Japanese govt. and private industry executives are the ones determining what catches are "legal". If whaling was banned by Japan tomorrow, these same ships would be quickly modified for other deep sea fishing and the same crews would be working on them.

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

I don't like Seashepherd at all, but there's no evidence yet they're behind this, and I'm unaware of any case where they've killed in the past.

:sarcasm: tag; the gratuitous exclamation points didn't do the trick, apparently :).

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

I'll settle for this;

:wtf:

Cause it's the same argument, you know.

They also assume they have a complete and perfect right to judge the fate of others, secure in the knowledge that THEIR morality is the final story.

And non-believers shall go to hell cause it's written in THE BOOK.

If one is missing, then I hope he/she is found to be safe. Commercial fishing is a dangerous job.

That said, I hope the Nisshin Maru takes water, and goes to her briny death. To the bottom, taking nobody with her.

She'll make a fine artificial reef.

Other toxins.

While I really could care less if it sinks. You might be concerned about what is actually onboard such a craft.

Are the SS boats still in the area? If so the one that sill has fuel needs to head back to see if there is any help needed.

than we'd not have to play the "lesser of two evils" card, then.

Sending this ship to the bottom now, has less of a footprint than another decade of slaughtering whales on the high seas, in a sanctuary, for no good reason.

The bilge likely pumps worse. I look forward to your next point.

the Ross Sea is a remarkably fragile environment.

the argument that human life is worth more than other life. Especailly since I haven't seen any whales or dolphns killing off thousands of people lately. (answering the replies, so upset about the missing man, not the original op). And I would give my life, if it would guarantee the life any species.

One human life is not necessarily worth more than an animal life.

That being said, it is wrong to wish death upon someone or say that they deserved it...just as a human yourself and to be a good human, you should respect all life and respect the feelings of this missing person's family. That's all I'm saying.

It bothers me alot that there are only a few hundred or thousand mountain gorillas and bonobos alive in the wild. They are our closest relatives and there is a thriving trade in bushmeat. So I am sesitive to the issue.

I have no problem with people who see themselves on par with other life. As long as you don't try what SS does and instead use whatever bravery you can get to get close and document this so that you can expose this operation for what it is...

I mean think about it. What if they had gotten like advanced camera equipment and set up to extensively watch the fleet's every step? IR cams, (You can also use IR lamps to flood the ships with light the crew cant see so that they assume you arent watching then you snatch up tons of footage that shows them for what they are) Motion Cameras, HD Cameras, Webcams etc.. You could fill the blogs and airwaves with these images and do far more damage to their op and supports than ramming ever could.

:hi:

And to answer your point, both Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace have extensively documented the slaughter operations, and the images are appropriately horrifying. Consequently, world public opinion is overwhelmingly against commercial whaling.

MORE CAMERAS!! IR LAMPS!! Etc..

They need to really get on the ball targeting the population of Japan so that they will show increasing support of efforts to take this loophole of whaling down.

Lots and LOTS of HD footage with expensive high quality stabilizers.

nd it haunted me for months. but it was on tv at 3Am, for lack of funds.

After someone dies in a clinic bombing. They say one life is worth sacrificing because it saves so many others.

There has to be better ways to save the whales that do not include cheering for the loss of a human life.

That does not sound like protestors. Perhaps a crankcase explosion or a turbocharger. Could be lots of things.

And some of you sound like freepers. Sorry, but that's how it is.

If you will notice that is the kind of people I am trying NOT to empower by posting here. I dispise freepers for their hatred. Few there show reason.

Calling people trying to help your political image freepers is a surefire way to lose support no?

I am a moderate that wants to have his freedoms back. Being a freeper supporter only means sealing the destruction of my freedom. Why do I want to do that?

it's entirely possible Turbineguy was referring to those who cheer death and destruction in the name of their "cause" as the Freeper-like ones.

I had thought he was refering to some of the earlier postings of mine and others.

Sorry for that reaction as there have been posts calling us a number of things.

Har, har, don't mean to laugh.

I remember when I was new to DU. It can be scary in here!

INCOMING........wheeeeeeeeeew..........BLAMMMM!!!

I posted a bit during the election and before that it was mostly reading of topics.

Maybe I need to start a BIG topic on IEF fusion to get known ;)

Speaking of such IEF may also have a huge effect on these whalers as more power means more info means more exposure and shutdown. IE Sea Shep. outta join with Greenpeace and others to QUICKLY fund this to deal serious damage to corruption efforts via energy. IE (Ruin the Oil profits, and a freeper cant harp on you because IEF means we wont need a drop of foreign oil)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1996321846673788606

I'm listening to the lecture now, but well... it's way over my head.

Thanks for the informed info (I assume you are, actually, a turbine guy?)

Despite being one of the more vocal critics of the Sea Shepherd tactics, I never seriously thought it was the protesters. They're not ninjas and I don't think it's their style.

Anyway, though I agree with your sentiment that calls for death and destruction are somewhat err, "evocative" of the freeper mindset, it may get your post deleted. (Mine too, maybe)

Whether we like it or not, these people are earning a living in a lawful manner. Fishing is a major economic and cultural part of Japan. To outlaw whaling is a separate issue that should be taken up with the Japanese government.

Having the ship sink (especially in the delicate Antarctic) only creates more environmental problems.

Where ever the explosion and/or fire took place, gloating about it is not productive. Having been at sea with several engine room fires, a major machinery explosion casualty, a near-sinking, and lots of all-nighters adrift and without power, I have strong opinions on such things (but that's my paranoia).

Strictly speaking, sustainable whaling is possible and of greater concern should be the beachings that are occurring that may be linked to sonar pings. That said, no, I would not go whaling for a living, myself.

(I'll get off my soapbox now.)

Its about to explode in to a giant mushroom cloud!!! The ship will throw itself
apart sideways and burn at the bottom of the sea as molten metal for a week!
It will probably sink at the speed of falling through air,
which is physically normal, .. yes... uuhh..

This is a "processing" ship. I think the problem is in the processing area.
If it is not on the deck it is near it.

And may the damned floating slaughterhouse go straight to the bottom.

Remember that the whales that the slaughterhouse has already taken
are counted against their "quota" so no "replacements" are murdered.

environmentally speaking.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17166275/

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Officials warned of a potential environmental disaster in Antarctica after fire erupted Thursday on a Japanese whaling ship, as the search continued for a missing crewmen from the crippled ship.

New Zealand Conservation Minister Chris Carter, whose country is leading efforts to help the stricken ship, said it was carrying 132,000 gallons of heavy oil and 211,000 gallons of furnace oil and was starting to list from water pumped aboard to fight the fire.

"It is a serious situation ... a ship badly damaged and full of toxic oil," Carter told National Radio.

...

Currents head for colony
Carter said the safety of the Nisshin Maru's crew was the top priority, but noted the ship was only 110 miles from the Antarctic's Cape Adare, one of the world's largest penguin breeding rookeries with some 250,000 breeding pairs, Antarctica New Zealand chief executive Lou Sanson said.

"It's a long way off the coast but the currents do go that way. We're very concerned about what could happen," Sanson told The Associated Press.

And you have no choice but to accept the charges!!

nice move japan

ass clowns

Yuka, his 32 year old wife, and Masahiro, Kazu's father, waited along with the Kazu and Yuka's 4 year old daughter, Hana, and newborn son, Jun, for news of their father.
The four of them live in the same house because Masahiro's wife had passed on and because Kazu is away for such long periods of time.

Friends and other family members gathered through the night bringing food and messages of hope for the upset family. They prayed together and tried to comfort the cries of little Hana.

They knew that the Kazu had a dangerous job, being gone for long periods of time in the arctic oceans, but this year their fears were compounded by the increasingly violent attacks by the Sea Shepherd and their crew, including attacks by chemical weapons, ramming or forcing ships into the treacherous ice floes.

It seems many wanna jump to conclusions about maybe the Sea Shepards. If folks would read the whole article they would see both Sea Shepard ships were long gone.

The spirit gods of the whales have intervened.

Subject: frogmen away
Message:
I belive the whaling fleet's actions are illegal and immoral. Still, I would object to taking action that would kill people. That's just going too far.

But the Greenpeace protesters and other anti-whaling people are passionate. Why not borrow a page from WWII and use divers? Approach the ship while it is under anchor in port, attach limpet mines to the screws and steering gear. The ship will be tied up for months with the repair work but no lives are put at risk save for the diver(s), and that is a risk they would be taking as volunteers.

Now I'm not under the illusion that such actions would be seen as legal by the various nations of the world but it would be (relatively speaking) saner than using something like Sea Shepherd as a ram.

oh, I don't know. someone ask the Rainbow Warrior-

Greenpeace does not engage in destructive or violent activity. That's more Sea Shepherd's thing.

Thanks for posting.

:hi:

Let's just say they have a history of converting ill-tended whaling ships into man-made reefs. :D

cuz sinking a ship without preparing it properly causes a host of environmental problems.

Frankly, I'm surprised such gleeful support for breaking the law is allowed on this site. One need only read some groups here to see the blatant support for illegal activities.

Like poaching?

Unfortunately, sometimes, you have to fight fire with fire...

Although I agree with you about not properly preparing a vessel before scuttling it. Personally, I'd prefer to see illegal whalers and fishing vessels seized. Until that happens, though- interfering with and disabling them seems reasonable to me.

As fisheries are depleted past the point of no return, I think there'll be a lot of people who wished we'd taken action.

The issue here is the extinction of an intelligent species. Try to stay on topic here.

it's not a ruse.

Surely you know that before a ship is purposely sunk to become an artificial reef, a great deal of care is taken to remove all the oils and other toxins that are incredibly dangerous to the marine environment.

Did you read the articles about the threat to the antarctic marine environment caused by the fire? Fortunately, the worst-case scenario seems to have been avoided, but it would've been tragic.

And actually, the topic of this thread is not the extinction of an intelligent species - it's about a whaling ship on fire. So I'm a lot closer to "on topic" than you are.

edit: just saw the article posted below. You think 1.3 million liters of oil in a penguin breeding ground is a ruse?

the first is whether seashepherd is being environmentally wise by sinking whaling ships while in port. I argue they are not.

The other issue is the current situation in Antarctica. I hope that ship doesn't sink, either, because that would be an environmental disaster.

As a side note, the constant use of the words "illegal" and "criminal" aren't factual. They're taking advantage of a loophole, which while frustrating, isn't illegal.

you're mistaken. The UN convention does not give vigilante powers to individuals. Nor is it "law" in any meaningful sense.

And if Watson were in fact empowered to enforce the law, he could arrest the whalers. There's no reason to use force and threats. But the fact remains he has no power to do so, no jurisdiction, no right.

He can argue that he has a "higher power" behind him, but that just puts him in the same class as abortion-doctor murderers.

I'm not going to waste my time arguing with you,
but for the benefit of anyone who isn't aware, do a little googling.
His adversaries have come after him with unlimited legal resources.
The courts have said he is empowered to enforce the law,
he has good reason and legal justification to use force and threats,
he has the jurisdiction and the right to do so.

And he's never murdered anyone - sad to see you resort to that kind of bullshit argument.

"the courts" when it comes to the high seas.

He has no jurisdiction - NOBODY has jurisdiction.

I can just as easily find "a" court who will convict him for terrorist threats as you can find a court that will convict the whalers.

And can you cite me a court that has jurisdiction that says Watson has the right to sink whalers?

http://www.seashepherd.org/about-mandate.html

<snip>

Sea Shepherd is guided by the UN Charter World Charter for Nature and cites Section 21 under the heading of Implementations as the Society’s authority to act on behalf of international conservation law.

<snip>

This UN Charter was upheld in 1995 when Captain Paul Watson cited the Charter as his authority to order Spanish and Cuban drag trawlers off the Nose and Tail of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Captain Watson had been arrested in this area, outside of the Canadian 200 mile limit, by Canadian authorities and was charged with felony mischief.

During the court proceedings, the jury was advised by the Judge that Canada was a signatory to the World Charter for Nature, and as such, they must take the Charter into full account.

Captain Watson was acquitted “by reason of colour of right,” and at the same time established a Canadian precedent for using the Charter to defend actions of intervention against illegal fishing activities.

Note: Colour of Right is a common law defense defined as “an honestly held belief in entitlement to property” (Source: Jurist Canada)

which court decided this?

And more importantly, what jurisdiction did this court have?

And even if some nation's court acquitted him, you really believe it gives him the right to be a vigilante?

Its like rimjob sent his disruptors over here on this issue

The issue that any corporation can strip mine the ocean for stockholders Profits IE $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Talking about "environmental problems" in a whaling port ... :eyes:

this ship isn't in a whaling port. It's in a pristine part of the antarctic, near a penguin breeding ground. The ship contains 1.3 million liters of oil.

Yes, its sinking would be a huge environmental problem.


And sinking a ship in a "whaling port" is also environmentally unsound. Do you think somehow the bad juju from whaling leaks out of the boat and pollutes the port?

It suggests that you read the argument I was responding to.

I agree that the factory ship is a major floating hazard where it
is at the moment and that the Japanese are polluting a "pristine part
of the Antarctic".

I was just pointing out that sinking a whaler in harbour before it fuels
up would not cause significant difference to the grossly polluted state
of such a harbour. On the other hand, such an action would prevent the
environmental problems that the ship performs for simple greed.

not only are they slaughtering whales, they are also running the risk of damaging the environment further with an oil spill. Do these people not get it?

Burn baby burn!

Yuka, his 32 year old wife, and Masahiro, Kazu's father, waited along with Kazu and Yuka's 4 year old daughter, Hana, and newborn son, Jun, for news of their father.
The four of them live in the same house because Masahiro's wife had passed on and because Kazu is away for such long periods of time, returning only in the spring and fall for one to two months. Kazu always looked forward to being reunited with his children and he often brought them gifts from the far away places he visited.

But this time it looked like he wouldn't be ever returning home. That the last time he kissed his daughter and baby would be the last contact ever between them.

Friends and other family members gathered through the night bringing food and messages of hope for the grief-stricken family. They prayed together and tried to comfort the cries of little Hana who wanted only to be told that her beloved father was all right.

They knew that the Kazu had a dangerous job, being gone for long periods of time in the arctic oceans, but this year their fears were compounded by the increasingly violent attacks by the Sea Shepherd and their crew, including attacks by chemical weapons, ramming or forcing ships into the treacherous ice floes. They could not understand why a country that had once driven nearly driven whales to extinction could not see that they were only hunting a small number of whales that were in such abundance that they were over-eating fish and disturbing the precious balance in the ocean, They believed that these whales, which were increasingly washing up dead on the shores anyway, were one of the causes of the diminishing number of othr fish and even the Blue Whale that competed with the Minke whales for dwindling resources.

That's what they believed, right or wrong. Whaling was fishing, nothing more or less.

Kazu loved the sea. He had joined the fishing company just 3 years ago.

He was a whaler. He was no hero perhaps. But he sure was a hero to his kids.

Now he's most likely dead.

His children will grow up fatherless, but will hang his portrait above their family shrine where they will leave offerings to him and pray to him.

I'm sure they loved them very much, and he they.



For all you who say he deserved it, I hope eventually you can heal the hole in your heart.

Some people here need help badly.

These people don't get some sick pleasure out of killing whales, they do it because it's a job just like those miners, etc...

The real fault lies with the gov and the whaling op ship that is a floating disaster waiting to happen and needs to be sold as scrap.

So stop with the idiotic Karma remarks people.

people reveling over the death of this young man are sick.

It's one thing to be passionate about a cause. It's entirely another thing to think your passion entitles you to kill. That's when a line is crossed.

As pro animal rights as I am, I do feel sorry for the crewman and his family. But often the expecting females are slaughtered. They could at least hunt adult males only.

You know, if I posted a similarly nauseating dribble-fest for a Blackwater
mercenary who died in Iraq ...? The comments about "just rewards for selling
his soul" would overflow the pages and yet here?

> ... only hunting a small number of whales that were in such abundance
> that they were over-eating fish and disturbing the precious balance
> in the ocean, ...

So the "scientific" excuse is simply that the whales compete with the
ever-hungry Japanese fishing fleet?

As for the idea that whales are "disturbing the precious balance in
the ocean" ... I can't put into words the contempt that I have for the
author of that article.

Whales disturb the precious balance in the ocean but whalers and fishermen
don't?

:wtf:

The Japanese whalers and Newfoundland sealers often use this excuse to dodge the fact that fisheries collapses are entirely due to human overexploitation.

Three for the price of one? We can hope.

We could get three times the environmental disaster for the price of one!

You want 10s of thousands of tons of oil and other toxins dumped that close to where so much life. Are you saying you want possibly hundreds of thousands of animals and other life killed horridly and the area totally destroyed to save a few whales.

That is absolutely disgusting and I hope you do not consider yourself a animal activist because you sound JUST the opposite.

This is something I expect to hear on callers to a right wing radio show or a freeper forum and not on a democratic/moderate forum.

You've done it more times on this thread than I've got time to count up at the moment. Go bother somebody else.

Yes or No

What you are actually insulted that I use that term when you are making such an outlandish remark?!

Seriously. I pray that you seriouly don't support the prospect of that much death and destruction in such an untouched envrionment. Do you understand the impacts of the ships going down where they are at?

This isnt even interesting anymore. This is SICK

Go. badger. somebody. else.

I can hardly believe this!

Well now that I am stunned by this topic I will take my leave.

I do hope that the ships can be safely evacuated back to Japan. This whole thing beginning of when they were first spotted has been a mess. Hopefully whale hunting will be outlawed outright in Japan before the ships can be repaired, as the people of Japan must be sick of the bad media this whole thing is attracting.

I call out to the DU community to shun these praises and hopes of karma and death to either human or animal lives. Not only is it morally outrageous it is dangerous politically because of the people who use forums like this for raw material to prop up hatred and lies.

...a really big place. It's not unusual to encounter people posting some pretty conflicted sentiments (e.g. "Death to the Freepers!). You'll learn that flamewars are about as productive as wrestling a hog...

Better to succinctly make your point and let it be... If your reasoning is sound, others will grasp the message - and it'll save you a lot of typing. ;)

:evilgrin:

(DFTT LeftyMom, it makes him feel entitled to repeat himself and get his
post count up.)

The flies are annoying.

Just because it annoys you? Nah.

And an interpretation of political circumstance that differs from yours does not make a liar, no matter how much you desire that it were so.

you think he's a hero. A lot of think he's a dick.

The law is on our side. Common sense is on our side. You like to put animal life above human life, and there's a reasonable argument to be made for that. Not an argument I agree with, but a reasonable one nonetheless.

The problem, as I see it, occurs when people like you automatically assume we're somehow deficient when it comes to discussions like this. Not only do you pretend to be superior - you actually break the law in the secure knowledge of your moral superiority. And that's where the line is crossed.

You have no more right to break the law than an anti-abortionist. I have dealt with both anti-abortion extremists and animal-rights extremists and there is no difference between the two groups.

Anybody who thinks their moral outlook allows them to steal or commit violence is an asshole. I will ALWAYS stand against them. Mark.

Sea shepherd stopped a lot of the carnage in the sea over the years and they did it without killing anyone. There is no comparison to anti-abortionists, that's just a stupid argument. Whales are sentient beings that are being poached for dog food. Its sickening.

No doubt the fire was caused by something done on the cheap by the corporate owners, and I certainly feel compassion for the death of that sailor. But that doesn't stop me from feeling relief that the whale killing should be over for this year.

that it's a stupid argument. I see great similarities between the two sides. Both sides think that the moral certitude of their position trumps the law, and gives them rights to engage in violence and destruction.

1.3 million liters of oil are on it.

Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070218/ap_on_re_au_an/antarctica_whaling_ship_fire

where, by law, as others have posted, it MUST be taken

at which point, it will be forever impounded by that government