Sea Sheperd: are they right or wrong?

[Fleischer]

So what do you think? Are the Japanese well with in their rights to kill the whales?

Technically. Unless someone is willing to tell these Japanese companies to stop pretending they are doing "research," which is responsibility of the International Whaling Conventions organization, the Japanese will continue their actions.

Should Sea Sheperd do whatever they can to stop them?

Nope. To be blunt, the Sea Sheperd's actions fall within many definitions of terrorism.

Or do you have a better solution?

I don't. Frankly, I know more than the average bear on this subject, but not enough to quality myself as a specialist. You are correct that the men whaling are getting pissed and endangered by these activists. With that said, whales should be managed in a sustainable way to benefit mankind, not just the monetary interests of a single nation.

 

[Sniperyeti]

The Japanese aren't 'honest men trying to make a living'. Officially they're 'scientists harpooning hundreds of whales a year for "research purposes'. So no, no sympathy here for the whalers.

 

[Jiefu]

As a whale, I feel whaling is wrong and whalers should be stopped by any means necessary.

It took me 5 hours to type this, as I am a whale.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Well, the asian countries whose economies are soaring upwards right now are becoming such fucking dumbheads it's not even fun. Killing rhinos for their horn because apparently you will get infinite erections from it etc. they are doing everything we in the west did, but then abolished because now we see how wrong it is. Why can't they learn from us?

Because they are right now in the same place economically and culturally as Western civilization was during it's period of industrial revolution, and during that time we spent over a century doing stuff that makes unsustainable whaling look tame. We are in no position to take the moral high ground. Yes, we moved on, but that doesn't make all the bad stuff we did just go away. So how are we going to look to them if we turn around and say you can only have an industrial revolution like we did so long as you tiptoe around all the issue we steamrolled over. We'd look like a huge buck of cunts imposing the biggest double standard history has ever seen. I'm against whaling sure, but I can't exactly call out the people of the Tiger economies for killing a whale when my country's wealth is built of shit like the slave trade, which is in a whole other league of wrong.

 

[Edible Avatar]

The whaling ship was about 300 meters away, show me the rifle that can shoot accurately at that range and still not penetrate that flimsy vest.

More like 50-80 metres away. Just about the range at which handguns lose their effect and will definately be stopped by a light bullet resistant vest.

Oh, by the way, most ak47 immitations and poorly made 7.62 calibre rifles have about that much of a range limit. And by that time their rounds will be all over the place. How do you think it is that any Afghans are still alive despite of them spraying eachother with ak47 immitations all the time. ;-p

Uh, it would'nt matter if the the bullet was shot from a kalashnikov or a sports rifle, the ballistics are generally similar. The bullet weight and powder load is more important to consider, and at 70-100 yards, a 7.62x39mm is going to hit you harder than a Intoxicated UFC fighter at a "Your momma" convention. Also the vest he had didn't have a steel/ballistic plate in it, so that bullet would have gone through it like a knife through warm jello.

 

[Hitokiri_Gensai]

i completely agree, that whales should be protected. But being an eco terrorist, is still being a terrorist. One of these days those guys are gonna get in DEEP shit that they cant get out of.

One of these days they'll get whats coming to them. There are better ways of going about protection of animals than ramming ships.

The whaling ship was about 300 meters away, show me the rifle that can shoot accurately at that range and still not penetrate that flimsy vest.

More like 50-80 metres away. Just about the range at which handguns lose their effect and will definately be stopped by a light bullet resistant vest.

Oh, by the way, most ak47 immitations and poorly made 7.62 calibre rifles have about that much of a range limit. And by that time their rounds will be all over the place. How do you think it is that any Afghans are still alive despite of them spraying eachother with ak47 immitations all the time. ;-p

Uh, it would'nt matter if the the bullet was shot from a kalashnikov or a sports rifle, the ballistics are generally similar. The bullet weight and powder load is more important to consider, and at 70-100 yards, a 7.62x39mm is going to hit you harder than a Intoxicated UFC fighter at a "Your momma" convention. Also the vest he had didn't have a steel/ballistic plate in it, so that bullet would have gone through it like a knife through warm jello.

Barrel length has a significant effect on velocity. Just as a note. Not really sure what this argument is about. haha

 

[Edible Avatar]

Barrel length has a significant effect on velocity. Just as a note. Not really sure what this argument is about. haha

yes, but the argument implies a rifle. If the size difference was a few inches, there would be a noticable difference, but not insanely profound.

edited for size

 

[Hitokiri_Gensai]

Barrel length has a significant effect on velocity. Just as a note. Not really sure what this argument is about. haha

yes, but the argument implies a rifle. If the size difference was a few inches, there would be a noticable difference, but not insanely profound.

edited for size

I still dont know what the arguement is about, but yes. Then again is it a full size AK47/AKM or the improved AK74, or even something like an AKS-74U which is a 5.45 caliber "sub machine gun" rather than the 7.62x39 out of the AK.

 

[JaceArveduin]

(who apparently had tags to catch whales for scientific purposes, and I believe they offered to show them the papers)

Unless I'm mistaken, almost ALL of the whalers have those tags, it's the loophole that lets them keep doing it.

But yeah, they're doin it wrong tbh, I saw a documentary on the guy somewhere, and I can say for a fact that a few good snipers with .50's on those icebergs and you wouldn't have any trouble sinking those ships and easily getting away with it, or at least harassing them and getting away with it.

 

[RanD00M]

Whale meat is not special in any way,

You're fucking with me here, right? Whale meat is some of the most delicious meat I have ever tasted. That shit melts in your mouth and gives you total foodgasm.

OT: These Sea Shepards you speak of sound like real dicks. And from what I read in the op they are obviously going at it wrong. Not only does not whale = no money, but putting fishing net into the propellers can destroy the propeller or worse, make it overheat and catch on fire.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

Whale meat is not special in any way,

You're fucking with me here, right? Whale meat is some of the most delicious meat I have ever tasted. That shit melts in your mouth and gives you total foodgasm.

OT: These Sea Shepards you speak of sound like real dicks. And from what I read in the op they are obviously going at it wrong. Not only does not whale = no money, but putting fishing net into the propellers can destroy the propeller or worse, make it overheat and catch on fire.

Really? No joke, but I was told by someone who tried it that it was tough and gamey. Perhaps he had a different kind...

 

[RanD00M]

Really? No joke, but I was told by someone who tried it that it was tough and gamey. Perhaps he had a different kind...

The kind that I eat is soft and quite nice. As I said, melts in your mouth.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

Really? No joke, but I was told by someone who tried it that it was tough and gamey. Perhaps he had a different kind...

The kind that I eat is soft and quite nice. As I said, melts in your mouth.

I assume it's legal to do so where you reside, correct? I don't think it is in the states

OT: If you have to resort to violence to get your point across, I question your point in the first place.

 

[selce]

Send them where the Whaling Industry needs them most!

there arnt any whales on the moon though, all they do is just sit around telling tall tales and singing whaling tunes. Not very productive IMHO.

 

[RanD00M]

Really? No joke, but I was told by someone who tried it that it was tough and gamey. Perhaps he had a different kind...

The kind that I eat is soft and quite nice. As I said, melts in your mouth.

I assume it's legal to do so where you reside, correct? I don't think it is in the states

OT: If you have to resort to violence to get your point across, I question your point in the first place.

Why yes it is legal here. It was made illegal in the early 00's, but make legal again two years ago.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

Really? No joke, but I was told by someone who tried it that it was tough and gamey. Perhaps he had a different kind...

The kind that I eat is soft and quite nice. As I said, melts in your mouth.

I assume it's legal to do so where you reside, correct? I don't think it is in the states

OT: If you have to resort to violence to get your point across, I question your point in the first place.

Why yes it is legal here. It was made illegal in the early 00's, but make legal again two years ago.

I see. Well, this has been enlightening. Thank you for that.

 

[CrystalShadow]

it was wrong, it was sabotage. They are just vigilantes and last i checked that means that they aren't above the law

Eh. Arguing about the law in cases like this is a bit meaningless.

The whalers are breaching international treaties against whale hunting. They do it through the use of legal loopholes, that their government fought quite hard to create, but even so, it's obvious they're abusing a technicality.

You just contradicted yourself.

First you say they are breaching treates, and then you correctly point out that they are following the treaties, meaning theyare NOT breaching treaties.

You might not like what they are doing, but the only ones doing something illegal here are the sea sheperd folks.

Firstly, the Sea Sheperd folks aren't doing anything illegal either. You can say otherwise, but nobody has any jurisdiction over the area where they do their more serious actions.
You can't break laws where none exist.

Secondly, the whalers are breaching the intent of the treaties. Everyone knows this, but nobody can prove it.
Of course, the existence of the loopholes they're hiding behind is a continual frustration to everyone.
But the choices are basically between a flawed treaty that Japan abuses, or a less flawed treaty which Japan refuses to sign.

The problem with international law is there is no single authority. Whatever laws exist are all treaties between groups that are quite powerful in their own right.
Short of starting a war there's not a whole lot you can do against a country that refuses to cooperate.

 

[lolmynamewastaken]

i feel that so long as the japanese stay within their quotas for the whales and ensure that they aren't just killing anything that's wet, there should be no problem maintaining a viable population and therefore, what the sea shepherds are doing is mostly poorly disguised piracy. i see what they trying to do though, i just feel that there are better, less dangerous for both parties ways of going about it...