[SeaGypsy]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010 ... =australia

Star of the anti whaling fleet, only launched in October; now destroyed.

Personally I can understand the Japs on there argument about traditional whaling, I cannot understand what this has to do with going to Antarctica in high tech factory ships with arial backup.

[mgibbons19]

The worst thing that guy could have done was that discovery show last year or two.

Now I root for the whalers.

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SeaGypsy', '[')url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/06/2786875.htm?section=australia]link[/url] Star of the anti whaling fleet, only launched in October; now destroyed.
Personally I can understand the Japs on there argument about traditional whaling, I cannot understand what this has to do with going to Antarctica in high tech factory ships with aerial backup.

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mgibbons19', '
')Now I root for the whalers.

[SeaGypsy]

Technically the Gil had right of way. It was on a steady starboard (left) tack at equal speed. There was no port call (loud warning siren form the ship on port tack) despite the fact it was obviously aware of the gil's position. What does all this mean?
Yes, I agree it looks like a political stunt, to grab headlines. I know if it was my little game i would have pulled hard reverse before impact.
Also, this will create a long court battle.
Insurance is payable by the Japanese due to right of way.
However the Maru will argue as tanada has pointed out, these babies don't turn on a dime.
The game is to make the whaling unprofitable, a massive increase in insurance fees would help this cause.

[mgibbons19]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mgibbons19', 'N')ow I root for the whalers.

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mgibbons19', '
')Plus, I've been to Iceland and whale tastes good when done right.

[mgibbons19]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mgibbons19', 'P')lus, I've been to Iceland and whale tastes good when done right.

[mcgowanjm]

I look forward to whales and dolphins outliving humans.

Both now Non Human Persons. Remember when we were exploring Space looking for intelligence. Why? Hoping some would rub off?

[mgibbons19]

So the answer to the problem is a captain who is hell bent on pursuing this agenda?

At the risk of his equipment? At the risk of his crew?

So when he kills some volunteer on his boat who is simply too idealistic for his own good, that'll be ok?

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mgibbons19', '
')So when he kills some volunteer on his boat who is simply too idealistic for his own good, that'll be ok?

[Sixstrings]

The commercial hunting of sea-going mammals is abhorrent. I wish we would have put a stop to it during the occupation.

As for their traditions, phooey on them. If they're willing to hunt the whales in the REAL traditional way (like the Eskimos do) then that would be sustainable -- but these factory ships are beyond travesty.

And the big whales, they're a natural wonder, they really shouldn't be hunted at all.

[shortonsense]

I love the show. I can't wait till the newest season fires up, knowing that we get a decent damaged/sunk ship this time.

What is most fascinating about that show is the raw demonstration of how perfectly rational people can convince themselves through the mechanism of perceived moral superiority that anything they do is "right".

This attitude then does something else amazing...it brings out a sort of political correctness in the Japanese. I'm willing to bet that the law of the sea, in its many guises and forms, would allow the actions of the Sea Shepard gang to be interpreted as an attack, an assault, or some sort of hostile action.

In any reasonable set of rules, self defense in some form or another is perfectly reasonable, and no, I don't mean LRAD's or nets or such, I mean, when someone assaults your ship in the open ocean, and you happen to have a 5" howitzer available, you use it. All neat and tidy.

But there is this public relations issue which stops you from doing something completely reasonable...and suddenly you are engaged in this tit for tat nonsense rather than doing a legal and perfectly reasonable response to pirates/an assault / econuts.

Its all quite fascinating. If I were the Japanese, and I was afraid of the prop fouling exercise, I would deploy a catcher of some sort under the hull to snag the silly things. I would weld a bowplate on the ships closely resembling a cowcatcher on a train, and a ram underneath it similar to that used by a Greek trireme. And whenever some idiot was slow to get out of my way, I'd be equally slow in issuing orders to change course.

Its all great fun.

[SeaGypsy]

If only it were that simple shorty.
The hindu in me whispers your karma is to be born again as a southern ocean krill over and over until the sun explodes or carbonic acid forces you to full reversion: spinelessness, jellyfish.
Mgibbons, you are correct that this is a set up. I would have punched the captain very hard in the head if I was on the Gil. I very well could have been, as I have been on the Sea Shepherd.
However this is a an issue of extreme passion to many millions of people. Cetaceans are our waterbound cousins, 'we' are going deep into their indisputable territory and killing them using technology without which we would be dead in 3 minutes.
How much imagination does it take to reverse the situation?
This is a scumdog activity the Japs are engaged in under the blatent lie of 'research'.

[mgibbons19]

Hmmm. Good for you. I'll bet there are some interesting stories there.

Care to share?

[SeaGypsy]

Up until the Adi Gil, the Sea Shepherd fleet was all way too slow. We could rarely get near the whalers. This stupid act by the Adi Gil's captain has cost the fleet it's most effective weapon against the Jap marauders for the sake of some headlines. I think it's pretty obvious that the crash could have easily been avoided by the Gil; this gives the japs ammunition so it is particularly stupid.

[SeaGypsy]

The japs did sound a port call, I was wrong earlier. This evens the court battle considerably.

[shortonsense]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SeaGypsy', 'U')p until the Adi Gil, the Sea Shepherd fleet was all way too slow. We could rarely get near the whalers. This stupid act by the Adi Gil's captain has cost the fleet it's most effective weapon against the Jap marauders for the sake of some headlines. I think it's pretty obvious that the crash could have easily been avoided by the Gil; this gives the japs ammunition so it is particularly stupid.

[SeaGypsy]

Shorty, you are a fool. A remote controlled floating camera with flying capability would be even more effective than the Adi Gil. You are obviously completely ignorant of non violent resistance. Ever heard of Ghandi? NVA is often walking a very fine line, the complexities are far greater than a jellyfish like you requires to continue to waste perfectly good oxygen.
PS: flies can blind horses. What do you do with a blind horse?