Sea Shepherd sued in U.S. by whalers

Japan Times ^ | Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011

[Pan_Yan]

A Japanese whale research group filed a lawsuit with a U.S. federal court Thursday against Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and founder Paul Watson, demanding they be ordered to cease disrupting its whaling activities.

The Institute of Cetacean Research and another plaintiff, Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha Ltd., are seeking a court order to prevent Sea Shepherd and Watson from "engaging in activities at sea that could cause injuries to the crews and damage to the vessels," the research group said in a statement.

Japan's whaling missions, conducted by the institute as part of what it calls research whaling, have often been obstructed by the U.S.-based conservation group, including a high-profile sinking in Antarctic waters in January 2010 when a protester's speedboat's bow was chopped off in a collision with a whaling ship.

Kyodo Senpaku is commissioned to operate the government's whaling fleet and owns the ships.

The suit, filed together with a request for a provisional injunction at the U.S. District Court in Seattle, also demands that the protesters' ships be kept at a certain distance from the whaling fleet, the research group said. Sea Shepherd is based in the state of Washington.

Criticizing the sabotage activities as "dangerous" and "life threatening," the plaintiffs allege that the conservation group's actions violate international laws on maritime safety.

In the joint statement, they also said the obstruction activities "not only put at risk the safety of the research vessels at sea, but are also affecting the scientific achievement" of Japan's "legitimate" whale research program in the Antarctic.

Sea Shepherd's protests have escalated in recent years, such as pointing laser beams at the fleet's crew, hurling bottles containing butyric acid at the Japanese vessels, and intentionally closing in on the fleet with its ships.

Japan officialy halted commercial whaling in 1986.

Tokyo placed Watson on an international wanted list through Interpol in June 2010.

[Pan_Yan]

Japan Unleashes a Tsunami of Muscle Against Sea Shepherd
December 9, 2011 Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Armed Security ships, mercenary thugs, Coast Guard officers, heavy weight public relations firms, and lawyers!

Thirty million dollars buys a great deal of influence and can exert immense pressure when defending an illegal activity.

In an act of desperation, the Japanese whalers armed with a war chest of some $US30 million allocated by the Japanese government from the tsunami earthquake relief fund are throwing a great deal of muscle into their efforts to stop the Sea Shepherd ships from saving whales this season.

The latest move has the Japanese whalers filing a lawsuit in a U.S. Court to prohibit Sea Shepherd from intervening against illegal Japanese whaling operations. Sea Shepherd dismisses this suit as frivolous and nothing more than the whalers attempting to use litigation as a weapon against Sea Shepherd.

“We have won this round already,” said Captain Paul Watson. "Last season we defeated the whalers and sent them home in humiliation after they were only able to kill 17% of their quota. This year will be more challenging. Thirty million dollars buys a great deal of influence and we are expecting a full onslaught of harassment and bureaucratic obstacles from Japan and from the governments, courts and media they are able to influence.

“It will be a challenging season and the most dangerous campaign to date as we head down for our eighth year of interventions against the whale poachers of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.”

Sea Shepherd is undeterred by this latest attempt to stop us in the U.S. Courts.

“This seems like a frivolous lawsuit to me,” said Captain Watson. “We have the images of the Japanese whalers destroying one of our ships, ramming our ships, running over our crew, firing upon us, throwing concussion grenades, deploying acoustical weapons, hitting us with water cannons and bamboo spears and they are suing us because they are accusing us of violence towards them. We have not rammed them and we have not caused a single injury nor have we been charged with a crime or even reprimanded by anyone for our actions. We have cooperated with every inquiry. They have not. This is simply a case of using the courts to harass us. I don’t believe they have a case and I doubt a U.S. court would take this seriously. Unlike Japan, the courts in the United States don’t automatically do what the government demands that they do.”

Sea Shepherd has more important issues to address than being distracted by lawsuits. “Our entire focus for the next three months will be on preventing the ruthless and illegal slaughter of whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary,“ said Captain Watson. “We will not be deterred by force, by lawsuits, by bureaucrats, by critics or by any government. We act non-violently within the boundaries of the law and we save whales from a criminal operation in a whale sanctuary.”

All this muscle is simply the last gasp of a dying, ecologically destructive and ruthless industry. Sea Shepherd will never abandon the whales of the Southern Ocean no matter how heavy handed the Japanese whalers become. The only way they will stop us is to kill us and they may be just desperate enough to do just that.”

[Pan_Yan]

Hippies Failing Badly!^TM

Please let me know if you want on or off the Whale Wars ping list.

Here's the latest rambling plea from Admiral CoCo Puffs (aka Paul Watson):

Dear (Lousy Stinking FReeper Troll),

The whale wars are upon us! The illegal Japanese whaling fleet has left port bound for the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. We will be there to greet them when they arrive in just a few short weeks.

Operation Divine Wind is set to be our most successful campaign to date! We are pulling out all the stops and this year we intend to end whaling in the Southern Ocean - permanently. We are going up against a global superpower and your help is vital to our success. You can take part in the defense of whales and other marine wildlife by supporting our mission today.

[Dengar01]

This will be one fun winter!!! If rat face drowns I want to hold a special celebration on Free Republic!!!

I don't know why I have such animosity towards him but he really creeps me out. They sell electric razors everywhere! Use it, whiskers are for cats!!!

Our secret mole inside Sea Shepherd will continue to provide us all with the latest details from the vegan fools.

On that note I think I'll eat a hamburger! :P

Thanks Pan for improving the mood around here! You are DA BEST!

[Pan_Yan]

I can't claim I've ever posted an article from the Australian Visa Bureau but I'll do it just this once for you. Looks like the Flying Hippie will be back for another round. The USMC must be proud.

Sea Shepherd helicopter pilot granted Australian visa

It has been reported by the Australian Greens Leader, Bob Brown, that Chris Aultman has now been granted an Australian visa after initially being denied entry to join Sea Shepherd in their efforts to protest the Japanese whaling fleet.

Chris Aultman is a helicopter pilot and former US Marine, and was initially denied entry to Australia to aid Sea Shepherd in their efforts to locate and protest against a Japanese whaling fleet.

However, after pressure by Sea Shepherd and other groups, Australia Immigration Minister Chris Bowen has responded to the case and Aultman has now been granted an Australian visa. This was confirmed by Senator Bob Brown, the leader of Australia's Green Party, who made the following comments:

"I thank Immigration Minister Chris Bowen for his swift response to my request as to why two Sea Shepherd crew members were denied visas to enter Australia. Sea Shepherd's Chris Aultman and Tim Pierce, helicopter pilot and mechanic respectively, had both successfully applied before for visas to Australia. Mr Pierce is expected to be able to also join his colleague in Australia."

"The Japanese Government is sending a patrol boat from its Fisheries Agency to 'strengthen the protection' of whaling ships as they illegally hunt whales in Australia's territorial waters. Japan has also taken tens of millions of dollars out of tsunami relief funds to help finance the whale killing fleet heading to Antarctica.

"I have serious concerns that the presence of the patrol boat may escalate tensions when Sea Shepherd tries to protect the whales the Japanese ships are slaughtering.

"The Australian Government must have a plan in place to ensure safety as the Sea Shepherd fleet prepares to leave Australian ports to defend hundreds of whales from Japanese whaling ships," Senator Brown said.

[Dengar01]

The Japanese could easily end Sea Shepherd. They just need to fly in some really fatty vegan food, like COCO PUFFS!!! Paul Watson will be so distracted that he'll halt the campaign in order to enjoy the food.

I'd also fly in the gay makeover guy Tim Gunn although what would he do with Peter the "Rat Face" Hammerstedt??? May be a career killer for Tim Gunn. I know they sell electric razors at Walgreens and CVS, but Rat Face doesn't seem to care.

And finally... I will not partake in "Whale Wars the Drinking Game" for fear of the death of my liver. Everything is so predictable that I'd be passed out five minutes into an episode!

Anyways in over a decade of being a FReeper, these threads are my absolute favorite!!!

Please message Pan_Yan to be added, this is like an anti-depressant, but it's free!

If you don't like hippies, if you are mad about the #OWS creeps, then this is your ping list! This ping list is composed of some of the wittiest FReepers we have, led by Pan_Yan who never fails in making me laugh hysterically!!!

[Dengar01]

Whenever I hear "Green Party" I run as fast as I can!!!

I don't know why they would have done this in the first place, they have more problems with the helicopter than dealing with Dell Technical Support!!!

God we can make a drinking game about Chris Aultman and how many times his helicopter has almost been blasted by a water cannon, or crashed from the Sound weapon...

I foresee a lot of complaining from Captain Coco, but I really do not like Rat Face. He says he is Swedish but sounds like he has "Valley Talk" from Southern California!!!

[USNBandit]

F#$% you dolphin and whale!

[Kozak]

[lephantom]

Don’t the Japanese realize yet why they had the Tsunami?

They are very lucky that someone didn’t let their Atomic Plants didn’t wipe them all out.

[jonascord]

Explain to me what is wrong with putting an RPG thru the bridge windows of the Sea Shepard, and while the lousy hippies are dealing with that, sending over a boarding party of ex-North Koreans, who can open the sea cocks.

Machine gun everyone still in the water, if you don't want to trust hypothermia, and there is nothing left but an oil slick.

It wouldn't be the first mystery of the sea...

Whaling will die with the last of the Japanese whalers. No one in Japan wants whale meat, and it' survival depends on tradition, like manufacturing buggy whips and top hats.

[Fred Hayek]

Sea Shepherd has also attacked other fishing vessels as well. This is piracy. We all know what should be due pirates.

[bray]

What would it cost to deliver some whale steaks to the Bob Barker?

[faucetman]

I can’t wait for the new season to begin. I love the TV show. While I know they are all Commies, I still thank them for what they do. They stop some of the illegal killing of whales and other marine animals. This is a good thing. They are radical. I like that. They believe in their cause. I like that. They are inept sailors, and someone is going to get killed eventually. They have been lucky so far. I wish them all well.

[Graewoulf]

Please list the recent publications of “The Institute of Cetacean Research.”

If they are doing Research, then what is the state of their knowledge from this Research? These publications will document that.

If peer review of their published articles is less than Scientific, then the Japanese have been violating International Whaling Laws.

The ecological balance of the Oceans is to delicate to allow a rogue nation, such as Japan to upset it.

[Secret Agent Man]

I am tired of both sides.

Tired of the Japanese continuing to lie to the rest of the world, when everyone knows they are, yet they keep doing it.

Tired of liberal knobs playing “pirate”.

Personally I would love to see all the pirate ships and all the “research” whalers sink to the bottom of the oceans.

[Roamin53]

They have been publishing authentic articles for years. Some of which shows that Minke Whales number in the millions. I have also seen research ( not from the japanese) that says growing whale populations ( top of the food chain)consume far more of the ocean’s bounty than the entire human race and that the baleen types huge consumption of plankton and other embryo fish is contributing to depletion of food stocks. That is also the reason that the Japanese cut Dolphin populations in some areas. The japanese culture ( and all you sushi lovers) have always been dependent on the oceans for a large percentage of their food.

[MarMema]

""A human being is a part of a whole, called by us _universe_, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."
Albert Einstein.

[Graewoulf]

Thanks. What are some of these journals? I’d like to Google them.

BTW, do any of their articles justify slaughtering whales verses live sampling?

[7MMmag]

Paul Watson;

"We have not rammed them and we have not..."

Whoa. Back up a second. "Have not rammed"? Uh, Mr. Watson, you have televised to the world your own doing of that very thing, with yourself at the helm personally. Not only that, but there have been many attempts to foul propellers & steering gear. At great risk to your own people's lives.

I'm sure the Japs can tell the more complete story, better than I.

Simultanously, but quitely behind the scenes, while this court filing in the U.S. is wending it's way through the process, the Japs could issue Letter of Marque and Reprisal and equip a couple of vessel with heavy-duty RF jamming gear, powerful enough on any and all frequencies the Sea Shepherd folks might be using.

Cut the satellite up-link first. Jam any SSB they attempted to broadcast on immediately thereafter. Close quarters, board 'em to make arrests, and if encountering anything like armed resistance, sink them, then pick up the survivors. Have an on board brig or jail outfitted with enough holding cells for all Sea Shepherd personnel. (There will be more than one Sea Shepherd vessel around, most likely)

Put the mouthiest ones in chains. Leg irons. Give Watson the full chain-up treatment. Hold him incommunicado. Treat the captives well overall, as per international conventions. Feed them good enough...don't actually force them to eat whale meat, but one could offer them some, hehheh...

Take them to Japan, put them on trial there.

[sbMKE]

I think you have to google “whale meat cookbook” to get their best research.