By This actually just confirms what I have been saying for years, that Sea Shepherd’s activities are in fact increasing the numbers of whales killed every year:
Japanese and American officials discussed taking action to weaken a prominent anti-whaling group, with Tokyo insisting that Sea Shepherd’s confrontations on the high seas actually hurt efforts to reduce whaling, U.S. diplomatic cables show.
The U.S. representative to the International Whaling Commission, Monica Medina, discussed revoking the U.S.-based conservation group’s tax exempt status during a meeting with senior officials from the Fisheries Agency of Japan in November 2009, according to the documents released by WikiLeaks on Monday. (…………….)
Action against Sea Shepherd would be a “major element” in achieving success at international negotiations on the number of whales killed each year, the cables cite the director general of Japan’s fisheries agency, Katsuhiro Machida, as saying.Referring to Sea Shepherd, Medina said “she believes the USG (U.S. government) can demonstrate the group does not deserve tax exempt status based on their aggressive and harmful actions,” according the cables. (………………)
The diplomatic cables, posted on WikiLeaks’ secret-sharing website early Monday but dated Jan. 1, show Japanese officials repeatedly told U.S. counterparts the group’s actions were making whaling a political issue and hurting any chance of a compromise on the numbers of whales killed each year. [Associated Press]
To eco-loons like Paul Watson there is no such thing as compromise because they become irrelevant once such a compromise is reached. They need the specter of “illegal Japanese whaling” in order to justify their activities and keep the media attention and money that comes with it on them. The New Zealand compromise would have greatly reduced the number of whales killed each year, which Paul Watson could care less about because the bill would also reduce the amount of cash in his pocket and the amount of media attention he craves.
You can read my views on the whole Japanese whaling issue here, but as usual the South Park guys explain the Japanese whaling issue in a simplistic way that everyone can understand.
8:18 pm on January 3rd, 2011 1
These people can be classified as Terrorists without too much bending of the terminology. They should be dealt with as such.
8:38 pm on January 3rd, 2011 2
Why isn't the Japanese naval SDF shadowing their fleet and protecting it?
…and if the SDF cannot due to constitutional issues, why isn't the US Navy defending one of our main allies ability to peacefully and legally participate in commerce at sea, which is their right?
The next time "CPT" Paul fat-ass Watson attempts piracy/terrorism on the high seas there should be shots across his bow. Should this not discourage him, his vessel(s) should be boarded/seized/sank and the surviving criminals arrested and subjected to trial by the law of the sea.
12:04 pm on January 4th, 2011 3
Someone on Fark nailed it when they said it was all about the Japanese wanting to save face. They don't want to stop while there is someone pushing for it since that would be loosing face.
As for Paul Watson and his bunch, they are Grade-A screw ups.
6:10 am on January 5th, 2011 4
Sorry to burst your bubble, but for any govt to take sides in this matter would bring in opposing govt's. Everyone knows that. If the Japs bring in their Navy, New Zealand would bring in theirs or someone else (was it “Mouse in the Brewery”). We also know the US State Department sits across the table from the Japs and they play politics just like any other country.
To take a quote from GI Korea, "What I have been saying for years" is Watson and the Sea Shepherd feel so strongly about what they are doing they take definitive action that could cost them their lives. Whether you call them "eco loons" or "terrorist;" claim they are throwing concentrated hydrochloric acid in the face of the japs, or committing piracy; they are taking action and exercising their freedoms – not sitting behind a keyboard acting like some nabob.
People like nothing more than a “David and Goliath” (or a Jewish) story. Let the Japs introduce their navy and the next thing, everything is in the spotlight. You know the majority of rest of the world is not in favor of the Japs harvesting whales for human consumption and then lying about it calling it “research.” It is true, a population cannot be defined as having a majority of stupid people.
For anyone to care about what the Sea Shepherd does is lunacy. How does what they do in the Antarctic or anywhere else affect anything we do?
Oh, yea – If you have accessed the WikiLeaks website on your personal computer and you are subject to the laws of the US, you have committed a crime and are subject to prosecution. When your computer crashes because the NSA has spiked it, don't act surprised.
12:05 am on June 25th, 2011 5
as far as I understand, Japan is not allowed to have any kind of military, including a NAVY
3:22 pm on June 25th, 2011 6
@5 – Japan has one of the world’s most modern militaries to include a navy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Self-Defense_Forces
They constitutionally cannot deploy the SDF on offensive operations but that didn’t stop them from assisting the US in Iraq, UN peacekeeping missions, and they are using naval assets to help the international effort to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia.
8:15 pm on July 1st, 2011 7
how can anyone be satisfied with a compromise when they believe the only quota that should be agreed upon is zero whales killed. i applaud any effort to bring any country’s whaling industry to a permanent close. lower the quotas? to what? half as many deaths would still be unacceptable. the whaling commission seems to be missing the point, though i wouldn’t be surprised if corruption, bribes, etc. in that organization aren’t as rampant as elsewhere in the political world.
7:29 pm on January 29th, 2012 8
GRADE A SCREW UPS LOL THEY MADE AN IMPRESSIVE IMPACT ON JAPAN SEEING SOME CONTERIES ARE SCARED OF THEM OR BOUGHT BY THEM LIKE THEY BOUGHT AMERICA FOR 14 MILL A MONTH TO GET THEIR VOTE TO BE ABLE TO WHALE. OH YEAH THEY SURE DID LOOK IT UP PEOPLE BUT A SMALL CREW WENT AGNIST THEM AND LAST YEAR DEFEATED THEM.PLUS ANYWAY ITS NOT CALLED A WHALE SANCUARY BECAUSE IT IS WHERE YOU KILL THEM ITS SUPPOSE TO BE A PLACE UNTOUCHED BY MAN SO THEY HAVE A CHANCE TO REVIVE THEIR NUMBERS DUE TO WHALING. UNLESS AN OCEAN FULL OF GIANT JELLY FISH SOUNDS GOOD TO YOU. BUT YOU CANT EAT THE JELLIES. SO WE LOOSE MANY FOOD SOURCES CAUSE JELLIES LOVE SMALL FISH. SO THINK ABOUT IT WE KILL THE BIGGEST MAKING WAY FOR THE JELLIES AND THEY WILL FINISH OFF WHAT WE STARTED. THEN ALL OCEAN LIFE CRASHES. BY THE WAY 75% OF OUR OXYGEN COME FROM THE OCEAN TO SO THEN LOOK DEEPER THEN CO2 RISES AND GUESS WHAT IT EVENTUALLY GETS TOO HOT DUE TO CO2. WHAT ALSO HAPPENS IS THE LAND ANIMALS WILL START TO DIE OFF CAUSE THERE IS NOT ENOUGH OXYGEN FOR US. DONT DO IT FOR ME OR FOR YOURSELVES DO IT FOR THE GRAND CHILDREN OF TOMORROW BEFORE THEY ARE IN DANGER.
7:40 pm on January 29th, 2012 9
Dont just look at whats in hand THINK I MEAN REALLY USE THOSE BRAINS to see the whole picture which is very very hard for most americans.but remember every action has an equal but oppisite reaction. they keep things in check by eating them we kill them then their food goes unchecked then things start to die off that they might eat or compete with then ecosystems crash.
many want to know the difference between what we kill as americans and eat and how they do it. we breed what we eat we do not take it form the wild mostly. we also replant trees when we cut trees. they take from the wild and offer no help to them other then how to die no replacing means the food scource will one day dry up but we will always have cows cause we feed, water ,breed ,and give them medical care. i always thought japan was more developed than that but there is book smart and life smart guess which one they are.my guess is book smart but life HUH??????????????? where did all the fish go guess we will have to eat our dead.
9:15 pm on January 29th, 2012 10
Considering the poor grasp of English expression, inability to use the shift key, and reliance on the caps lock, I can only conclude David Swank is actually a whale…
…probably a narwhal… as it is quick to be anti-American… so it must be one of those snooty European-aligned whales.
I guess we should give it a break. It must be hell to use a QWERTY keyboard with flippers.
11:20 pm on January 29th, 2012 11
It was sent from an iPhone but thanks anyway. I am American right in central NY. The first thing I did was get into environmental sciences and microbiology. I know how things work google the overall health of the planet. It Is stated by credited scientists around the world that the situation on earth is starting to look a little more dire then they had originally thought. So are we supposed to react after it’s too late or before.
12:55 am on January 30th, 2012 12
There are narwhals in central New York?
I must say that I am even more impressed that one could use a touchscreen with flippers… or maybe it used the horn… an impressive skill, regardless.
“The first thing I did was get into environmental sciences and microbiology.”
The first thing I did was get into some diapers… but, as an adult, the first thing I like to get into is a pair of my wife’s silk panties… much easier than all that complicated sciencey stuff. I also like to get into cowboy boots filled with Vaseline and walk around the back yard hoping the neighbors will “accidentally” see.
“I know how things work google the overall health of the planet. ”
I, too, know how things work google. Poor google… very overworked.
“It Is stated by credited scientists around the world…”
Only credited? If you can’t trust a scientist enough to give him a full refund, you probably can’t trust the scientist. Lots of people try to play games when they want their money back but “lost the receipt”. If you must trust a credited scientist, see what they exchange their store credit for. If they get some kind of climate or sealife monitoring equipment, they are probably up to something. If they just buy women’s panties and Vaseline, they are probably OK.
“…that the situation on earth is starting to look a little more dire then they had originally thought.”
I can agree with this. They must have seen the audience share that nonsense like Jersey Shore is getting. Society is doomed!
“So are we supposed to react after it’s too late or before.”
We should act now. Jersey Shore needs to be taken out.
And, as a whale, you are perfectly suited for that kind of work… as long as you can avoid getting beached.
Good luck, David Swank, graceful beast of the frigid deep.
Save our world!
3:05 am on January 31st, 2012 13
Lol I did see an episode and couldn’t believe this show was one of the most watched very sad.If I were Italian I would be very upset that this is what Italians will be represented by in this day and age.
2:56 pm on January 31st, 2012 14
Ok chicken head this is for people to make their opinions heard. Almost all comments made by me were actual facts or an educated guess made by men who are much smarter than you or me combined. Just because you can’t grasp the bigger picture does not mean others can’t so do your research first get the facts then come back to argue. Because what you think dosent intrest me at all.conservation in the not so distant future will be very important to our overall health. Everything that happens on land impacts the oceans and vise versa. Just ask Japan about their weather patterns lately. They have been having one hell of a time as well as our lower east cost.
Ps. The name suits you. And sorry about being crude in earlier posts but I was kinda aggravated. I know not everyone looks at conservation the same but in the end we will all be wishing for it one day when we learn that sometime in the distant future we don’t have much time left here after we raped and pillaged this planet. And because most people think like you. I’m not mad at you I kinda feel sorry for you.