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| Down Under |
| Enviromental group threatens to attack Japanese whaling ships |
| 2006-01-14 |
| A HARDLINE environmental group has promised not to attack Japan's whaling fleet if Australia takes the Japanese to court to try to stop the annual slaughter. Sea Shepherd, which has promised to "shut down" the whaling ship Nisshin Maru, today said it would give Australia and New Zealand two days to announce a legal challenge against Japan. The group's founder Paul Watson, skipper of its flagship Farley Mowat in the Southern Ocean, earlier threatened to ram the Japanese whaling fleet. "If either New Zealand or Australia agrees to take Japan to court over the whaling issue, Sea Shepherd will agree to withdraw from confrontation for this year in order to allow an opportunity for a proper legal challenge," the group said. "Captain Watson has agreed to not attack any Japanese fleet for 48 hours to give New Zealand and Australia an opportunity to act responsibly." Mr Watson said Japan was in violation of the laws of the International Whaling Commission, the Antarctic Treaty and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. The Sea Shepherd ship Farley Mowat, skippered by Paul Watson, is about 160km from the whalers. Environmentalists attached to groups Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace have been involved in high-seas harassment of a Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean. The Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise was involved in the collision with the Japanese whale processing ship Nisshin Maru last Sunday, putting a 1.5-metre dent in the Sunrise's bow and bending its forward mast. Australia has declined to take action against Japan, with Prime Minister John Howard insisting he has made his anti-whaling views known to the Japanese Government. |
| Posted by:Oztralian |
| #13 I want live video of this! |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-01-14 23:49 |
| #12 Can I have the popcorn concession? ;-p |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-01-14 21:23 |
| #11 I liked the shots with the long line of warships. Serious PR. Shows whose navy is top dog in Asia (after the USN). |
| Posted by: john 2006-01-14 16:20 |
| #10 Nice shot of an F4 with Meatball John. Semi-rare. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-01-14 16:01 |
| #9 "Really stupid threat on the part of the whale-huggers." Are they not also in the same category of idiocy we find in tree huggers? Save The Whale! |
| Posted by: The Angry Fliegerabwehrkanonen 2006-01-14 14:00 |
| #8 Attacking a whaling ship by ramming it would fall into the accepted international definition of piracy, if the Japanese wish to push it. And that would allow them to conduct a drumhead tribunal and hang each and every one of the attackers immediately after the attack. Really stupid threat on the part of the whale-huggers. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2006-01-14 13:18 |
| #7 What is with the oriental blood lust for needing to eat anything on the verge of extinction? |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2006-01-14 12:15 |
| #6 don't whaling ships usually have big ass harpoons on them? |
| Posted by: Jerelet Thineling2988 2006-01-14 11:34 |
| #5 The way around this whole problem is for the anti-whaling crowd to get creative for a change. That is, come up with some otherwise unharmful bacteria, that when eaten by whales makes their flesh not just unpalatable, but loathesome to the taste, for the rest of their lives. In just a few years, they could feed enough whales contaminated Purina Whale Chow, so that it would no longer be economically viable to harvest them. A few instances of entire restaurants full of Japanese gourmands puking their guts out would have a lasting impact. Of course, the whale hunting nations would scream bloody murder about the whales being "ruined" for "research purposes", but who gives a damn? |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-01-14 10:32 |
| #4 The last thing the Farley Mowat will hear will be "Tora! Tora! Tora!" |
| Posted by: Jackal 2006-01-14 09:48 |
| #3 Hippy protestors against Japanese sailors? Are they serious? Where can I place a bet on this? |
| Posted by: Raj 2006-01-14 08:25 |
| #2 Attack Japanese ships? They could start with these... Link |
| Posted by: john 2006-01-14 07:48 |
| #1 that's great. But considering the slaughter that just occurred, you think these groups might have used this particular moment for a different type of protest. |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-01-14 07:07 |
