Sea Shepherd condemned by International Whaling Commission.
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***MOD POST***
Back on topic, please. Personal attacks are not allowed.
Back on topic, please. Personal attacks are not allowed.
I have missed a good bit of this thread since I didn't take the time to read every post made since my last. I notice you, as well as Kim, are both living in Japan Geoff. I also like the photo of the Japanese Angelfish you have in your profile. When I was at MACNA (Marine Aquarium Conventions of North America) this year I met the author of a book on Angelfish whom was Japanese and wrote an extensive piece of the species and its captive care requirements. Again as I stated before I have no bias against the Japanese people.
I do though want to touch on what you called cultural indoctrination. My assumption is that you feel we should accept Japan's whaling practices because its a cultural tradition. My cousin is an administrator for a large graphic design company and travels to Japan all the time and we got into this argument at Christmas dinner since he feels whaling is an important part of Japanese tradition. Personally Geoff I feel in the 21st century this argument is stale. There are cultural traditions here in America that are long extinct and thank god long gone!! Some examples include: slavery, the murder of native americans, hanging innocent people, the antics of the wild west - etc - etc.
A student from the Congo that I attended a cultural studies program with while in college came, descended down from a tribe that at one time practiced eating human beings - especially white and Asian settlers. Perhaps those folks would like to turn you or I into sushi and have it be accepted under cultural indoctrination.
Though if that is the argument you wish to use to support Japan's whaling industry that works for me. Here in the U.S. we have a cultural history of protecting natural resources. An American president from the Republican Party, Theodore Roosevelt (whom was an avid hunter and outdoorsman) founded the idea of the National Park. It was Mr. Roosevelt that turned many of America's wild places (both in the sea and on land) into federally protected parks. It was also Mr. Roosevelt that founded the idea of a police force to enforce the laws surrounding and governing the use of national parks. It wasn't until our current President, George W. Bush that America's protection of natural parks started to diminish. Although I will say that all of our candidates for the upcoming presidency have strong ties to ecological welfare and America's national tradition of conservation.
That said many of Sea Shepards volunteers are Americans that may want to culturally indoctrinate some ideas in the Japanese. Since the Japanese seem to feel its fare to invade other countries' waters to kill whales and spill their culture over onto others, perhaps Mr. Watson feels its alright for Sea Shepard to head into other countries waters and spill his culture onto the Japanese there.
I do though want to touch on what you called cultural indoctrination. My assumption is that you feel we should accept Japan's whaling practices because its a cultural tradition. My cousin is an administrator for a large graphic design company and travels to Japan all the time and we got into this argument at Christmas dinner since he feels whaling is an important part of Japanese tradition. Personally Geoff I feel in the 21st century this argument is stale. There are cultural traditions here in America that are long extinct and thank god long gone!! Some examples include: slavery, the murder of native americans, hanging innocent people, the antics of the wild west - etc - etc.
A student from the Congo that I attended a cultural studies program with while in college came, descended down from a tribe that at one time practiced eating human beings - especially white and Asian settlers. Perhaps those folks would like to turn you or I into sushi and have it be accepted under cultural indoctrination.
Though if that is the argument you wish to use to support Japan's whaling industry that works for me. Here in the U.S. we have a cultural history of protecting natural resources. An American president from the Republican Party, Theodore Roosevelt (whom was an avid hunter and outdoorsman) founded the idea of the National Park. It was Mr. Roosevelt that turned many of America's wild places (both in the sea and on land) into federally protected parks. It was also Mr. Roosevelt that founded the idea of a police force to enforce the laws surrounding and governing the use of national parks. It wasn't until our current President, George W. Bush that America's protection of natural parks started to diminish. Although I will say that all of our candidates for the upcoming presidency have strong ties to ecological welfare and America's national tradition of conservation.
That said many of Sea Shepards volunteers are Americans that may want to culturally indoctrinate some ideas in the Japanese. Since the Japanese seem to feel its fare to invade other countries' waters to kill whales and spill their culture over onto others, perhaps Mr. Watson feels its alright for Sea Shepard to head into other countries waters and spill his culture onto the Japanese there.
It is with a lot of shame that I have to point out that Paul Watson is ... a ... canadian...
Actually that's even better. The Canadian people have a strong eco-heritage as well and a very vibrant and active national parks system.
By the way here is the skinny on the Costa Rican murder charges Kim brought up:
Costa Rica filed 7 attempted murder charges against Watson and Rob Stewart in an effort to cover up mafia-funded illegal shark finning operations, after he caught a Costa Rican fishing boat poaching in Guatemalan waters on a journey to Costa Rica (invited by the president to help fight shark poaching there). They eventually had to flee to international waters to escape arrest by coast guard with automatic rifles after they had filmed mafia-funded shark finning private docks. The whole story has been caught on tape and is featured in Sharkwater [2] the subsequent documentary about sharks. Thus far, all attempts at prosecuting Watson for his activities with Sea Shepherd have failed. Watson himself defends his actions as falling within international lawmaritime regulations against illegal whalers and sealers. Watson claims to have been told to leave Iceland after having turned himself in to the Icelandic police after disabling two ships in harbor. and Sea Shepherd's right to enforce
Costa Rica filed 7 attempted murder charges against Watson and Rob Stewart in an effort to cover up mafia-funded illegal shark finning operations, after he caught a Costa Rican fishing boat poaching in Guatemalan waters on a journey to Costa Rica (invited by the president to help fight shark poaching there). They eventually had to flee to international waters to escape arrest by coast guard with automatic rifles after they had filmed mafia-funded shark finning private docks. The whole story has been caught on tape and is featured in Sharkwater [2] the subsequent documentary about sharks. Thus far, all attempts at prosecuting Watson for his activities with Sea Shepherd have failed. Watson himself defends his actions as falling within international lawmaritime regulations against illegal whalers and sealers. Watson claims to have been told to leave Iceland after having turned himself in to the Icelandic police after disabling two ships in harbor. and Sea Shepherd's right to enforce
OP
Well.... I believe Paul Watson is actually Canadian.....but that's a small issue.
Look - while I think you are entitled to your views about whaling I'd really appreciate if you take them to a different or new thread. This thread is about the IWC condemnation of Sea Shepherd's actions at sea that are unsafe and endangering people's lives. There's been many threads about whaling on SB....so these arguments are actually all very old. What is new is the outright condemnation of Sea Shepherd by the "United Nations" of the whaling industry. That's what this thread is about and the many posts that have been deleted by the Mods today were deleted because they were either getting too personal, or were completely off topic.
So let's stay on topic please?
People are free to believe what they want, and to campaign for their beliefs in non-violent, and safe, ways. I have no problems with Greenpeace filming for instance, to show the world what is happening and try to effect change with the information they collect. Sea Shepherd are a different case....and the IWC has condemned them for their dangerous behaviour. They've sunk ships, rammed ships, boarded ships, thrown projectiles at ships..... and the IWC has called for this behaviour to stop - and for member countries to help make that happen. This is a new statement from them....it came out of the inter-sessional conference in London two weeks ago.
Personally I think it's about time!
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Does anyone find it curious that the International Whaling Commission - an organization who have stated support for sustainable whaling - now condemn Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd Organization?
I'd have thought they would have done it years ago...but Watson and Greenpeace weren't making headlines then most likely. Or at least not at the level they were recently.
I'd have thought they would have done it years ago...but Watson and Greenpeace weren't making headlines then most likely. Or at least not at the level they were recently.
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