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| Down Under |
| Whaling protester boards Japanese ship |
| 2010-02-15 |
| An anti-whaling protester committed an act of piracy by boarding a Japanese whaling ship to make a citizen's arrest, a spokesman for the whalers said. Peter Bethune, a protester with Sea Shepherd, was detained Monday aboard the Shonan Maru 2, which last month collided with and sank the Ady Gill, a Sea Shepherd boat that Bethune was aboard when it went down. Bethune boarded the Shonan Maru 2 Monday while it was under way in the Southern Ocean so he could make a citizen's arrest of its captain and present the crew with a $3 million bill for the loss of the Ady Gill, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported. Glenn Inwood, a New Zealand-based spokesman for the whalers, accused Bethune of piracy. "It doesn't matter what his flight of fantasy was, whether he thinks he was there to make an arrest, whether he thinks he was there to deliver a bill, it's illegal," Inwood said. Bethune cut his hand boarding the ship and was being treated by a doctor on the ship as Japanese authorities considered their next move, Inwood said. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #27 The scene from the movie 1941 (catch at 3:05) with Capt. Wild Bill Kelso comes to mind, when he climbs aboard the Japanese sub, "Turn this tub around". |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-02-15 21:51 |
| #26 They should take good care of him while he is in custody. I suggest offering him hearty meals of whale steak, cooked to perfection by the ship's cook. If he decides to go on a hunger strike, let's see how long that lasts when there is food right next to him. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-02-15 19:31 |
| #25 an alternative is to forcefully disembark them on "neutral land" i.e. Antarctica, with limited rations and coordinates given to the Sea Shepards. Make them expend fuel, time, expense, and PR points, since you coughed the bastards up on neutral land |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-02-15 18:40 |
| #24 I seem to remember an episode of that show Whale Wars on Discovery where these same Sea Shepherd guys did this before. Don't bother watching the show, it'll just piss you off. They sent two guys over after a prolonged harassment and several attempts to foul the Shonan Maru's prop. As soon as they were aboard the Sea Shepherd crew immediately radioed the Aussies to report "kidnapping" of two crew members by the Shonan Maru. The whalers held them for a while but eventually released them back to the Steve Irwin. I despise whaling too, but until international law is changed the Japanese are going to exploit the 1,000 whales/year for "scientific research" loophole. |
| Posted by: Lowspark 2010-02-15 18:17 |
| #23 Technically (if the quoted letter is correct), it's not piracy as defined by maritime law (now known as UNCLOS - which Japan signed and ratified). He is guilty of trespassing and a case could possibly be made for a charge of interfering with the safe navigation of a ship I like 'moose's idea of turning him over to the JMSDF. Even better would be the Japan Coastguard, but the Shonan Maru #2 would have to wait until it got back into Japanese waters. But they'll probably turn him over to the one of the local maritime authorities (likely forcibly). And - I'd bill Sea Shepherd for the cost of this idiot's stay. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2010-02-15 17:42 |
| #22 Throw him back, he's undersize! |
| Posted by: Aussie Mike 2010-02-15 17:13 |
| #21 What a maroon In a covering letter Bethune states: "I am here to arrest you. I am requesting that you transfer now to the Steve Irwin, where we will take you into custody, and we will deliver you to the Maritime Safety Authority and the New Zealand Police once we reach Wellington (New Zealand)." "If you refuse to be arrested, then I am requesting that you deliver me to Wellington (New Zealand). Having sunk my vessel, and with our issuing of a mayday call, you have an obligation under maritime law to provide me with safe passage back to land." "I will refuse to be handed over to any Sea Shepherd vessel. I will also refuse to be handed over to any New Zealand or Australian Coastguard, Customs or Naval vessel. I will only leave the Shonan Maru when you transfer with me to the Steve Irwin, or when we arrive on land, be it New Zealand or Australia." "I am enclosing an invoice for US$3m, representing the new replacement cost of the Ady Gil. You are responsible for the collision and as such, you are also responsible for paying for its replacement." "I commit to you that while I am on your vessel, that I will not impede or disrupt your crew and their activities." The invoice, dated 14 February 2010, says "If payment is not forthcoming within four weeks of receiving this document, we will be proceeding with criminal charges in Japan against your company. We will be seeking punitive damages, in addition to the full replacement cost of the Ady Gil. Further to this, we will be laying criminal charges against the Captain of the Shonan Maru #2." |
| Posted by: john frum 2010-02-15 16:19 |
| #20 I figure by tomorrow they'll be bitching about how he's "being held hostage" As I recall they already tried that - and got not sympathy.... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2010-02-15 16:14 |
| #19 That was wonderful, Snakes Unise9498! My dear mother, who learnt the vocabulary of cussing as an academic exercise before going to work at a VA hospital during the Korean War, used to sing the first verse to us when we were small children. I never knew there was more, or that it was inappropriate for said small children. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-02-15 14:11 |
| #18 The only smart way to deal with him (as a pirate) would be to beat the shit out of him and then hang him. Do it in broad daylight so he friends can watch. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2010-02-15 13:30 |
| #17 Properly, the whaling ship should keep him until he can be turned over to the Japanese Navy, with intent to prosecute. This is where it gets interesting. I believe that in the Japanese legal system, you can be held for up to six months without charge or family notification, unless you sign a confession admitting wrongdoing. Then you are released immediately. However, if you sign such a confession, conviction is almost guaranteed, and appeal is very, very unusual. Being a foreign national, his home nation embassy would be contacted, but there is little they could do. The conclusion of this is that, at a minimum, he would get to enjoy several months in Japanese prison, on a diet of rice and fish heads, before deportation, and if they wanted to charge him with piracy, he is looking at a dozen or more years. Otherwise, the government of Japan could pretty much hold him hostage. And since his fanatical brothers would not behave themselves, he would get the max. In any event, fun fun fun. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-02-15 13:06 |
| #16 Toss him overboard, boys. Oh, alright - give him a life vest first. |
| Posted by: mojo 2010-02-15 13:02 |
| #15 you'd never get the stink off the blubber |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-02-15 12:58 |
| #14 Throw him in the freezer with the rest of the blubber. Let's see what he fetches at auction. |
| Posted by: ed 2010-02-15 12:46 |
| #13 How can you make a "citizen's arrest" in international waters? On a Japanese national nonetheless, whose nation-state I'm pretty sure doesn't have such a thing as "citizen's arrests". It's a creature of the common law, isn't it? |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2010-02-15 12:40 |
| #12 Better clean off my bifocals. I read the headline as "Wailing boarder protests Japanese ship". Or does that make just about as much sense as what Mr. Bethune is doing? |
| Posted by: mom 2010-02-15 12:28 |
| #11 Current Japanese submarines (I'm sure they could dig up a deck gun somewhere to cope with smaller pirate scows.) |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2010-02-15 11:11 |
| #10 Tie a 10lb weight to his legs and toss him over the side. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2010-02-15 11:07 |
| #9 I figure by tomorrow they'll be bitching about how he's "being held hostage". |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-02-15 10:55 |
| #8 > |
| Posted by: Snakes Unise9498 2010-02-15 10:44 |
| #7 Note that SS is a lily-white leisure-class gang attacking non-white working people. Sea Shepherd would be condemned as a racist enterprise if eco-wackies did not get an automatic pass from the media. |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2010-02-15 10:28 |
| #6 Good comments. I'm actually against whaling but I absolutely despise these arrogant media-monkeys and their piratical attempts to determine, and enforce, law and policy on the high seas. I wonder if it ever crosses their minds that not everyone out here in the real world (the "audience" to them) recognizes their authority to do so? |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2010-02-15 10:25 |
| #5 They still got yard arms? |
| Posted by: AlanC 2010-02-15 10:07 |
| #4 There was a song called, "What do we do with the Drunken Sailor," which has many suggestions on how to deal with the likes of Peter Bethune. It's a start. MT8949 gets the prize for the thread. Go save the shrimps. It's easier, trust me. ROFLMAO |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2010-02-15 09:50 |
| #3 Go save the shrimps. Its easier, trust me. |
| Posted by: Marilyn Thrineper8949 2010-02-15 09:27 |
| #2 Japanese authorities considered their next move, Inwood said. Japanese prison, he'll just love it. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-02-15 09:26 |
| #1 Piracy Trial. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2010-02-15 09:25 |