So I started watching this midway through last year and have seen the first two episodes this season and have one question - How have they managed not to kill anyone yet?
Betweeen Admiral Paul Watson saying I’m going to lead them through the ice field in my thin-hulled vessel because I have more experience with ice than they do - and then leaving the bridge to go look at pictures. He did tell the second mate to steer away from the big chunks of ice though.
And maybe it was funky editing, but the captain of the Ady Gil seemed to disagree with going back to port to get new radar. You’re talking a boat that goes 30 knots, sits only a few feet above the water and has already run into a fishing boat in its career and he is thinking about going out without radar?
Well, they do have to tell cappy that they’re willing to risk their lives for the whales. 
I don’t mind saying that I watch this show and root for the Japanese. Paul Watson is one of the biggest idiots on the planet, and one of the worst “leaders” I’ve ever seen. He never really tells anyone what to do, and then bitches when they don’t do what he wanted them to do but didn’t actually say out loud.
The Sea Shepherds are all so inept that it’s almost a comedy show. They’re never effective at anything, they spend almost more time running from the Japanese than attacking them, and they all seem to have this utterly bizarre notion that they get to make all the rules: “We attack the Japanese with non-lethal weapons, so when they throw stuff like nuts and bolts back at us – that might actually HURT – that’s unfair!” and the best one: “We can illegally board their ship on the high seas (which, to anyone else, is known as piracy), but when they respond by detaining us, that’s KIDNAPPING!” Holy crap, what did they expect? That the Japanese would just give you free run of their ship?
My favorite bit so far this season was when the helicopter pilot was flying around the Japanese ship and they pointed the LRAD at him. His response: “We’re no threat to them!” was priceless! Hey, clueless, your helicopter and ship are out there for the express purpose of interfering with their whaling operations. What definition of “threat” does that not full under?
I can’t wait til we get to see the Ady Gil go down!
That’ll be epic. I can’t wait to see the ‘Sad Sea Shepherd is Sad’ look on Watson’s face. Either one, or both of them.
Not that I have anything against the boat. I think it looks cool. (I just found out who Ady Gil is the other day, in GQ.)
It’d be awesome if the Japanese whalers created a competing reality TV show.
I’d watch it.
Though I’d assume that the whalers aren’t in it for the potential of dead whale sympathy sex with hippie chicks.
He does have a great sad face. It’s a combination of sad, surprise (“omigod, they didn’t follow our rules! Those basterds!”), dejection, “What am I going to do next?”, and pathetic.
Yeah, I think the boat was way cool. I am sad to see such a cool boat get wasted, but the guy who owns it is just stupid for using it to go against large ships. It’s another example of that “We get to make the rules” attitude. They think that they should be able to use anything they want against the Japanese and the whalers should just take it. “Hey, we can drive our boats toward the whaling ships, and they’re supposed to get out of the way. Wait, they didn’t get out of the way. No fair!!”
I would really like the chance to see things from the Japanese point of view. And I think it could only help their PR. Right now, they’re in a mostly no-win situation. The Sea Shepherds, despite their lunacy, have a lot of public sympathy on their side (myself, I mostly agree with their cause, just not their methods). If the Japanese fight back too hard, they just get more public feeling against them. But maybe showing what it’s actually like to have those pests throwing bottles at their ships, trying to disable their ships, cut their lines, etc. would help.
I made the suggestion last year, and Palooka followed up on it.
There was a different image I had in mind:
Still, I appreciated Palooka finding a photo and captioning it.
Seems unlikely to make a difference to me. They’d have to turn it into a debate over whaling in general which I think would be unlikely to change their minds on. I think whaling is an issue like nuclear power in that a lot of people have strong feelings and aren’t really open to rethinking. Also, the Japanese would probably be afraid of undercutting their legal position.
Far Side cartoon: Two cowboys are barricaded in a covered wagon (I think), and there are fires being started by burning arrows. ‘Hey! They’re shooting flaming arrows! Can they do that?’