# Japanese whale whores **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 7, 2010, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whale-whores/524021 "2010-01-07T12:27:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whale-whores/524021/321 "2010-03-12T14:54:34Z")
**Sea Shepherd Member Arrested For Whaling Ship Trespass** Story [here](http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100312D12JF053.htm). > [@](#): > > The Japan Coast Guard arrested a member of the antiwhaling Sea Shepherd Conservation Society on Friday for allegedly trespassing last month on a ship of Japan’s whaling fleet in the Antarctic Ocean. > > The Steve Irwin, left, a ship operated by anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd, and the Japanese whaler Nisshin Maru, right, engage in a water-cannon war in the Antarctic Ocean on Feb. 8. The whaling fleet security vessel, the Shonan Maru No. 2, where Pete Bethune, the New Zealand captain of the Sea Shepherd vessel Ady Gil, had been detained since boarding it Feb. 15, docked at Tokyo port at around 10:45 a.m. > > \ > > A protestor holds up a sign denouncing the Sea Shepherd activist group at a rally in Tokyo’s Harumi waterfront district Friday. Bethune, 44, allegedly approached the Shonan Maru No. 2 aboard a jet ski and climbed onto the ship. He is also suspected of having injured some Japanese crew members by throwing bottles of butyric acid on Feb. 11. > > At the wharf where the ship docked, **about 10 people** , including members of a conservative civic group, called for preserving the country’s whaling culture and denounced Bethune’s actions. **About 70 members of the media were also present**. Bolding mine. What was that they used to say about when more media people are covering a story than are involved in the story, it’s not a story? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whale-whores/524021/322 "2010-03-12T16:12:30Z")
Shame they didn’t staple him to that whale instead… -XT ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whale-whores/524021/323 "2010-03-16T04:16:44Z")
[quote=“xtisme, post:322, topic:524021”] Shame they didn’t staple him to that whale instead… -XT[/😃 Do they feed whale meat to prisoners in jail? 😃 Sorry bud, thats all we got this week, yeah it smells a little off from the butyric acid, but it wont hurt you. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whale-whores/524021/324 "2010-07-20T01:38:18Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > If this is the case then it seems to me that Australia should be doing something about this instead of relying on incompetent vigilantes. The Australian Government has vastly, vastly more important things to worry about and devote its resources to. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whale-whores/524021/325 "2010-07-20T07:37:47Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > The Australian Government has vastly, vastly more important things to worry about and devote its resources to. I suppose. Of course that means Australia’s “territorial” waters aren’t really theirs if they’re not willing to enforce their own laws. (Too many “theirs?”) ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whale-whores/524021/326 "2010-07-20T08:26:12Z")
Firstly, a grand total of four nations recognize Australia’s claim to some of the area around…not Australila, but Antartica: New Zealand (a friendly neighboring country), along with France, the UK, and Norway - none of which are anywhere near Antartica. The rest of the world - including Japan - believe the area is the high seas, claimed by no one nation. If Australia really believed they had a legal claim to the area, they’d be doing something about it, and certainly the UN or ICJ would be involved. Gee, I wonder why that’s not happening? Secondly, Japan has every right to be hunting the whales they hunt. Whether you believe the scientific research program is four pounds of crap in a two pound bag is up to you, but it doesn’t change the basic fact that Japan’s whaling is 100% legal. Third: Norway still kills more whales per year than any other country, last I saw. They don’t even bother with any ‘it’s all for science’ mumbo-jumbo. They simply said ‘we object to the IWC’, so they aren’t bound by the moratorium. By ignoring the Europeans and Americans (Canada and the US kill dozens of whales each year as well), the SS and others leave themselves open to claims of racism in their anti-whaling activities. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whale-whores/524021/327 "2010-07-20T10:16:09Z")
> [@Evil\_Jon](#): > > I agree with Roadfood 100%. > > The IWC was initially an organization created by whaling counties for conservation of whaling. It was hijacked by non-whaling countries (including Mongolia and Switzerland which have lots of whales near their coasts that need protecting) and the whaling moratorium was enacted. > > All Japan has to do is leave the IWC and they can legally hunt as many whales they want without having to pretend its research. Well yeah, except that the two island nations that are closest to where the actual whaling is being done are pretty vehement and direct in their condmnation of said whaling. I would need to go find a cite, but I think both governments have declared japan to be in breach of their obligations, and have also declared the “reasearch” to be a scam… ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whale-whores/524021/328 "2010-07-21T23:08:46Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Well yeah, except that the two island nations that are closest to where the actual whaling is being done are pretty vehement and direct in their condmnation of said whaling. I would need to go find a cite, but I think both governments have declared japan to be in breach of their obligations, and have also declared the “reasearch” to be a scam… I believe the operative concept here is…they need to put their money where their mouth is. If all they are doing is talking, they really don’t care. When you see Australian Navy/other official govt agency puting ships out there to do something about it then maybe someone is gonna believe it. I highly doubt anything is going to get decided with any finality until someone is willing to back those words with explosives. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whale-whores/524021/329 "2010-10-06T16:00:26Z")
Here’s an update for those interested: Pete Bethune, who was skipper of the Adi Gil when it was rammed, has resigned from Sea Shephard and just released a video explaining why. [Here’s the video.](http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/10027468) The short of it is Paul Watson is a lying attention whore, and he owed Pete money. Paul’s side of things is Pete is some sort of lying turncoat whose false testimony to the Japanese got him placed on Interpol’s Blue List. The Sea Shepherd [main site](http://www.seashepherd.org/) has Watson’s (very heavily edited) video side of things. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whale-whores/524021/330 "2010-10-06T17:15:09Z")
What is “the Blue list”? ---
**Author:** ![Dcypher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@Dcypher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dcypher)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whale-whores/524021/331 "2010-10-06T19:19:57Z")
In the end, I’m sorry, but the SS folks are provoking. When alleged eco-warriors were burning up Hummers or burning someone else’s house down, they are terrorists…end of story. Any act that would be violent without the alleged moral bullshit is terrorism and criminal in my mind. They are boobs and sooner or later, they will provoke a fight they lose badly and I will laugh heartily. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whale-whores/524021/332 "2010-10-06T20:09:15Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Those Sea Shepherd idiots are going to get someone killed eventually. … I am constantly amazed that it hasn’t happened already. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whale-whores/524021/333 "2010-10-07T13:41:24Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Here’s an update for those interested: > > Pete Bethune, who was skipper of the Adi Gil when it was rammed, has resigned from Sea Shephard and just released a video explaining why. > > [Here’s the video.](http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/10027468) > > The short of it is Paul Watson is a lying attention whore, and he owed Pete money. Paul’s side of things is Pete is some sort of lying turncoat whose false testimony to the Japanese got him placed on Interpol’s Blue List. > > The Sea Shepherd [main site](http://www.seashepherd.org/) has Watson’s (very heavily edited) video side of things. Apparantly the ship was scuttled. > **[Sea Shepherd 'sank its own anti-whaling boat'](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11490958)** > > An ex-member of direct action anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd alleges it ordered its own boat to be scuttled to gain public sympathy. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whale-whores/524021/334 "2010-10-07T13:53:59Z")
> [@Dcypher](#): > > In the end, I’m sorry, but the SS folks are provoking. When alleged eco-warriors were burning up Hummers or burning someone else’s house down, they are terrorists…end of story. > > Any act that would be violent without the alleged moral bullshit is terrorism and criminal in my mind. > > They are boobs and sooner or later, they will provoke a fight they lose badly and I will laugh heartily. They aren’t violent and they don’t burn Hummers. Next? ---
**Author:** ![Dcypher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@Dcypher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dcypher)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whale-whores/524021/335 "2010-10-07T18:25:34Z")
Oh please. They aren’t violent? Attacking another ship on the seas with anything is obviously violence. Their only stand is that they are right to do so because of the horror that the Japanese are perpetrating. This is the basis of all terrorism. I can respond with violence because peaceful means aren’t enough. As for the burning Hummers, that is a reference to actions of previous ‘eco-warrior’ terrorists who justified attacking the property of others based on their own ‘green’ beliefs. I lump all violent action against another based on some argumentative moral high ground as terrorism. You are free to protest. Follow the Japanese around and make movies of what they do. Sway public opinion with all of the words and actions you wish, but when you attack others, you are a common criminal. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whale-whores/524021/336 "2010-10-07T22:03:05Z")
> [@Dcypher](#): > > I can respond with violence because peaceful means aren’t enough. One thing I always love pointing out is that Minke Whales, the primary target of the Japaneese whalers, by even lowball estimates number 330,000+, high end estimates approach a million. If they hit their quota, they have cut the numbers by less than 0.5%. Minkes are not endangered or even considered vulnerable to becoming endangered at this point. Its kinda like PETA ramming dog catchers for the imprisonment and eventual execution of stray dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whale-whores/524021/337 "2010-10-07T22:06:47Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > OR invest in surplus PT boats rather than fancy racing boats… All, or almost all, WW2 era PT boats were burned at the end of WW2. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whale-whores/524021/338 "2010-10-08T00:04:19Z")
So they scuttled it to get more headlines. Earlier in the thread it was suggested the may have got themselves run over on purpose. I thought that was far fetched. It’s not looking quite so far fetched now… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whale-whores/524021.md?page=16)