Apathy in the face of whale slaughter

[Barrett808]

Apathy in the face of whale slaughter
Paul Sheehan
December 10, 2007

This morning, in the grey swells of the Southern Ocean, a pirate ship will enter the waters of the Australian Antarctic Territory. It is a black ship, bearing a black pirate flag, the Jolly Roger. For the past five days it has sailed south, so that it can take position and wait for its prey.

The prey is expected to arrive on Saturday, the day when Japanese whaling ships, operating under the patronage of the Japanese Government, are scheduled to begin hunting minke whales, humpbacks and fin whales in southern waters. This is an area where Australia has declared an exclusive economic zone extending 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) from the Antarctic coastline in a large swath of Antarctic waters. This is prime whale territory.

Yet the only intimidating presence that stands between the whaling ships and the slaughter of more than a thousand whales - the Japanese have set themselves a quota of 1030 - will be a private ship sailing under a Jolly Roger on which the crossed bones have been replaced by a trident and a shepherd's crook. The shepherd's crook signifies that this ship is operated by Sea Shepherd, the environmental vigilante of the sea.

"We shouldn't be doing this, we shouldn't have to," the ship's captain and Sea Shepherd's founder, Paul Watson, told me by satellite phone a few days ago. "If you want to stop pirates, you have to send pirates. It was a pirate, Captain Morgan, who shut down the slave trade in the Caribbean. It wasn't the British navy."

The black ship is registered in Rotterdam, captained by a Canadian, manned by an international crew and operates on the outer edges of the law.

"We have been called eco-terrorists," Watson said. "It's a strange label because we've never hurt anyone, while the Japanese have filled the ocean with blood. It's an audacious hypocrisy."

(more)

http://www.smh.com.au/news/whale-watch/apathy-in-the-face-of-whale-slaughter/2007/12/09/1197135280066.html

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/12/09/mucci_narrowweb__300x340,2.jpg

[Briar]

1. Wretched, but hardly unprecendented

Just look at the apathy before the slaughter of Iraqis in Iraq. Apathy seems to now be the normal reaction of westerners to atrocity and injustice.

[Harper_is_Bush]

2. Maybe if the good Captain wasn't so loose with the truth people would take him more seriously...

...

Sea Shephard claims Canadian MP "forced" to resign (false) and implies it had something to do with his position on the seal hunt (also false):

http://seashepherd.org/news/media_051122_1.html

The reality...Efford resigned because of Diabetes. The only controversy was how much work he'd been missing due to his illness:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2005/11/22/nf_efford_20051122.html

So excuse me, but I have precious little respect for "Captain" Watson.

His activities are one thing. You can agree or disagree with them, but lying to the public is unforgivable to me.

[micraphone]

3. Bush lies and people die

You may disagree with Watson's methods... but at least he's there trying to save whales.

No-one else is.

[Harper_is_Bush]

4. So, it's ok for Watson to lie, because he's trying to save whales?

Bullshit.

[micraphone]

5. Just sayin'

Wastson is out there, alone so far, trying to save whales.

Which is bullshit - staying home because someone lied or saving lives of innocent and endagered species?

Just sayin'

[sailor65]

6. Watson is a criminal

Greenpeace has been working to save whales for years, so where is Watson "Alone so far?"

Greenpeace uses peaceful methods which are often very effective, and gain support for its cause, while Watson has no problem resorting to physical agression, whic is an international crime, btw.

One of these days he'll tangle with the wrong fleet and get sunk. And Greenpeace will continue doing the work, the way they always have, without that wannabe, Watson, hurting the cause.

[Matilda]

7. Will this be the Rudd Labor Government's first broken campaign promise?

Before the election, Environment Minister Peter Garrett had this to say:

"Labor has a clear policy position that we will enforce Australian law banning the slaughter of whales in the Australian Whale Sanctuary," Mr Garrett said in a statement.

" Turnbull is all talk and no actions. All pretty pictures of whales in his election material and no results."

http://www.smh.com.au/news/whale-watch/labor-will-enforce-any-whaling-court-decision-garrett/2007/09/18/1189881497872.html

And from Robert McClelland, then Foreign Affairs spokesman, and now
Attorney-General:

"A LABOR Government would use the RAAF's long-range patrol aircraft and warships to gather evidence on Japanese ships involved in whaling operations in the Southern Ocean, says foreign affairs spokesman Robert McClelland."

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/labor-takes-tough-stand-on-whale-kill/2007/11/15/1194766867208.html


I hope they'll do more than wring their hands, but I'm a bit sceptical -
it's just something about politicians, whatever their political colours.