Posted on 11/30/2010 11:53:59 PM PST by RGT
A controversial animal-rights group preparing to embark on its annual harassment campaign against Japanese whalers has stepped up its effort this season by enlisting the aid of ... Godzilla.
The swift and ominous-looking interceptor vessel has the moniker Gojira, named after the ferocious monster in the legendary Japanese film, which in English means Godzilla.
The 115-foot boat was launched by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society on Monday in Fremantle, Australia, and has joined the larger vessels, Steve Irwin and Bob Barker, in Hobart. At midweek all three will begin their journey to Antarctic waters, where their crews will await the arrival of the Japanese whaling fleet.
Japan also means business. The whaling ships will carry armed members of the Japan Coast Guard to help prevent sabotage by the activists, according to the Japan Times.
(Excerpt) Read more at grindtv.com ...
Oh goodie, another fancy expensive toy for the whalers to sink. :-)
The problem is the Godzilla is now flying under the Australian. Australia sued Japan in the Hague. Remember that the Japs are whaling in Australian claimed waters. SO!!! If the Japs attack the Godzilla will the Australian Navy get invovled? That is where things get interesting. And Paul Watson will have another ship I can guarantee it!
I believe they get more funding than Green Peace because unlike Green Peace Sea Shepherd takes action where Green Peace just bitches and takes pictures.
Be careful these threads can get heated. There are several here who are very pro whaling. Everyone knows I am anti whaling and I enjoy the drama in the southern ocean. But you will get flamed if you go out and support Paul Watson, he is hated here by many. I even oppose him for putting his crew at risk. And saying he is willing to die to save a whale, that is all well and good but he is putting delusional morons in danger.
However, the people who say "Sink em", "kill em" are obnoxious I just don't respond to them.
Pan_Yan handles the threads and he posts whenever anything significant happens.
Australian claimed waters? Are they whaling within a 200-mile limit of the Australian coast like we claim in the US, or is this some sort of extended claim?
Putting that boat under the Aussie flag is a smart move by the otherwise-dense Watson...like you said, Australia has always been annoyed by Japanese whaling, and if a boat under the Aussie flag gets damaged (even if they put themselves in harms’ way) then it’s g’day, international incident.
}:-)4
Putting that boat under the Aussie flag is a smart move by the otherwise-dense Watson...like you said, Australia has always been annoyed by Japanese whaling, and if a boat under the Aussie flag gets damaged (even if they put themselves in harms’ way) then it’s g’day, international incident
There are several interesting things about this. I am shocked that Australia is giving Sea Shepherd permission to fight the whalers under the Australian Flag.
I think the Japs pissed the Australian's off so much by bribing third world "diplomats" with hooker's, drugs and money in order to get them to vote to support whaling.
But yes, if they attack Godzilla this will be a HUGE International Incident and Sea Shepherd will A) come out as victims B) gain lots of support from around the world.
The interesting thing is the Japs haven't left port yet and they usually would have left between Nov 9-17. So for the first time Sea Shepherd will be in the Southern Ocean before Japan.
Australia claims that the water in question is A) Australian Waters and B) A Whale Sanctuary.
If you aren't on the Whale Wars ping list and are interested let me or Pan_Yan know. We will be posting many threads this campaign.
Sometimes these threads get heated and we get mods to control the fighting so we all have to remember we are all FReepers and even though some of us are anti whaling, it doesn't mean we are libs, just means we are anti whaling. On every other issue I am 100% conservative.
Thanks. Actually I liked the Sea Sheppard people when I read about them 16 years ago. Just haven’t bothered to stay current with the situation, But if I liked them then I’ll like them now with their new Godzilla boat
Aside from whales the Asians (Chinese, Taiwanese, Japs, Korean) are ruthless in vacuuming up the seas of every swimming creature (half of which are thrown back as unwanted) via miles long drift nets and other sleazy techniques. I have little sympathy for them.
The only thread I remember that outraged people was when there was a picture of a dog used as shark bait by the Chinese.
No one cares about the slaughter of dolphins for no reason in Japan every year.
The fish population isn't going to last forever and the population in Asia is expanding like Obama's Government. Sad that more people don't care about it.
Looks like a fragile POS with poor seakeeping qualities ...
Every single “Sea Shepherd” boat needs to meet Davey Jones.
Dittos. It’s not just the Japanese. All advanced Asian nations are swarming the oceans hunting down all swimmers. If they have the IQ to build an advanced ship that can vacuum up fish and freeze them onboard they are in the money. Freezing onboard is the key
I wouldn't call what they do "taking action". Bethune was so frustrated by the total INACTION of the sea shepherd team, and their disfunctional lack of leadership and a plan, that he ended up running his boat into a whaling ship and then boarding it with a knife in order to "do something".
He was then disowned by Watson, and left to rot for 5 months in a Japanese prison. Meanwhile, evidence was revealed that the Ady Gil was actually sunk by the sea shepherd folks to raise their profile, rather than being salvaged after the hit.
My daughter will watch almost anything on TV, but she refuses to let us watch Whale Wars because "absolutely nothing happens". And she isn't humored by gross incompetence.
“History shows again and again how nature points up the folly of man”
The new boat doesn’t look “ice rated”...
I am an ocasional viewer, it seems they sea-hippies are careful about the nationality of who they send to attack/board the whalers... trying to avoid court trouble at the home port.
Now the sea-hippies will have to answer to the Australian Coast Guard for their behavior too... cuts both ways.
YOu were thinking of me RIGHT when you ping me on this article OH YEAH
P.S. And how do these idiots manage to insure their vessels?
And TOHO’s response is?
They should have called it “Unsinkable II”!
LOL, are they going to try and ram steel hulled ships with this one too?
And if this one shows the same sumbarining through the waves behavior that the previous one was designed to do with such a hull form, what mess do you think that superstructure will be in once it reaches the other side of the wave?
Those southern seas can be pretty treacherous...
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