[OKSooner]

Don't underestimate Paul Watson. Behind the idiot's face lies a master manipulator willing to take advantage of the vulnerable. Case in point Mr. Bethune, an odd mix of a seemingly competent man who is capable of making some horrible decisions. (Someone I know says decision-making and judgment skills are centered in the frontal lobes of the brain.)

"Okay, by a show of hands, who wants to go board a whale ship full of Japanese sailors and try to arrest their captain? Okay, Dave, Mike, Susie, Ed, Nigel, Ian, Roger, Tom, Ellen, Teresa, Cara, Tiffany... Anyone else? [Looking in Bethune's general direction]

And then the guy has the gall to come out and say that five months in a Japanese slammer is worth it if it saves a couple of whales.

Next time put your own fat ass on the line, Watson, instead of taking advantage of a guy who at least has some bushido about him.

[Pan_Yan]

To be fair, Bethune was all for trying to board the Japanese ship and Watson was not on the same ship where this was being planned. However, you are correct about him being a manipulator and showman. He has raised millions of dollars and gotten international acclaim. He talked Discovery into this show. But he is by no means a commander. He repeatedly shows that he is completely unable to make decisions when the heat is on.