Australian party hits whalers (Labor promises to send out the navy)

[Barrett808]

Source: AFP

Australian party hits whalers
By Shaun Tandon

TOKYO (AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE) — Australia's opposition Labor party, leading in polls ahead of elections Saturday, has called for military action in response to Japan's decision to go ahead with its largest whale hunt yet.

Defying warnings from its Western allies that it would inflame an emotional dispute on whaling, Japan on Sunday sent its fleet to the Antarctic Ocean.

The hunt will include famed humpback whales for the first time — a favorite of environmentalists and whale-watching tourists for its above-water acrobatics that belie its enormous bulk.

...

The Australian party said it would send out the navy to track the Japanese whalers and possibly take video footage.

"We really need to rattle the cage here," Labor foreign affairs spokesman Robert McClelland said. "It's unacceptable that it's not only going on, but getting worse."

Read more: http://washingtontimes.com/article/20071120/FOREIGN/111200029/1003/FOREIGN

[joeybee12]

1. Good!

Apparently there really is no market for whale meat/blubber/etc., but they're going anyway. Assholes.

[fenriswolf]

12. true but they are a cheap source of food and oil

and for a country that has very little land cheap food and oil are important. It's still so wrong though.

[alarimer]

42. They have warehouses in Japan stocked with unused whale meat

No one eats it. They cannot give it away.

[boricua79]

2. I'm FOR THIS

In another thread, I had posters attacking me for actually saying that I didn't think people should ram the ships of whalers. I thought that was unnecessary violence. I'm not for environmentalist activists ramming the ships of whalers to stop their attack.

I'm all for, however, any form of pressure that makes it a burden for the whalers to do their deed. So, if they get scared off because of the Australian Navy, great! and if they do something to the Navy, in self defense, let them blow the Whalers out of the water.

I'm just not in favor of starting violence.

[xchrom]

3. what ever it takes to get a real national response from someone.

and who knows if they aussie navy does -- new zealand may also follow suit.

[Thothmes]

6. good for them

[Judi Lynn]

4. It would be good to see them close up shop this year, by god, and go ####ing home.

Why don't they put all their restless "scientific" energy to any GOOD causes?

[saigon68]

5. Good maybe a little Pay Back for Dec 7, 1941 is in order

Thug capitalist murderers canning whale meat from an endangered species.

[Ken Burch]

18. I'm with you about stopping the whaling, but this isn't about Pearl Harbor, FFS.

Anybody involved in that would be at least 85 years old. That would exclude anyone in the current Japanese whaling fleet.

Save the whales, don't dredge up the now-irrelevant past.

[saigon68]

55. "They" killed my fathers best friend in the Pacific

So I have little love for their government which continues to behave as a gangster and a hoodlum for corporate interests

[ohio2007]

7. Royal Austrlian Air Force F1-11 sinks North Korean Drug Ship

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=9ed_1187506461

I don't think the whalers want to risk the same fate

[nebula]

8. Bomb the hell out of those whaling ships

This criminal activity should not be tolerated another minute.

[Algorem]

9. Absolutely.

[nebula]

21. At this point, there seems to be only two options left

a) track down and blow those whaling ships out of the water,

or

b) sit back and watch as these great creatures are senselessly hunted to extinction.

[and-justice-for-all]

10. SEND THE AU Government support mail!!!

http://www.foreignminister.gov.au/contacts.html

[Jennifer C]

15. No, Alexander Downer

is an asshole. He's not from the Australian Labor party.

This is who you need to send support to:

Robert McClelland - Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs
http://www.alp.org.au/people/nsw/mcclelland_robert.php

Hopefully tomorrow Labor will win the election :party:

[and-justice-for-all]

40. Haha...

Did I send a message to the guy (Downer) who is about to lose his job?? My bad...

[Harper_is_Bush]

11. If there's suspicion that international laws are being broken, I'm in favor of that.

Much better than having "Captain" Watson out there endangering lives.

[slowry]

14. You MUST be getting paid, or the man ran over your cat; wtf is up with the nonsensical attacks? n/t

[Harper_is_Bush]

19. uh...paid? No. Nonsensical attacks? Explain yourself.

I have little respect for the "Captain" because he lied about a Canadian MP in the past. Perhaps he thought that because most of his audience is non-Canadian and aren't familiar with Canadian politics he would get away with it. For the most part, he did. Just not with me.

So sorry, but I don't share your worship of the "Captain". I see him as an opportunist willing to bullshit when required.

That's all there is to it. My cat is fine.

[slowry]

22. You've never provided a link, or any references whatsoever, about this MP. Multiple DU

members have attempt to find anything whatsoever about your claims, to no avail. You've also never explained why him taking credit for some politician's resignation makes him the fucking SuperDevil(TM) -- assuming there's any truth whatsoever, to the allegation.

The fact is that you can't show where his actions have been anything but legal and admirable. Clearly you must have some deeper reason for hating the guy, and all the people who work hard to prevent whales from being slaughtered illegally (not to mention their countless other non-whaling-related campaigns).

[LeftyMom]

23. He's been banging on about this for years. Some member of paraliment retired,

he disagrees with Watson's interpretation of why. And he hasn't shut up about it for years.

Frankly, at this point, I'm thinking it's some sort of odd crush.

[Harper_is_Bush]

27. "Watson's interpretation"!

LOL. Very funny.

It's disheartening to see progressives willing to be so unconcerned with the truth.

[LeftyMom]

28. You guys don't speculate about the real reasons for retirement up there in the frozen north?

Okay then, I'll let you in on something: Most of those Bush appointees really aren't quitting to "spend more time with their families."

[Harper_is_Bush]

32. Members of the Canadian gov't are not "Bush appointees", and there's no consiracy here

our politics isn't saddled with a lazy and stupid media like the good ol' USA.

We have a national broadcaster that prides itself on independance and reports the truth. And is paid attention to more than NPR.

So, let's not make silly accusations like you have done, k?

[LeftyMom]

34. Also, north of the 49th, the food is better, the sun is brighter and all god's chilluns have shoes.

:eyes:

[Harper_is_Bush]

35. You've got some Canadian-hatred issues going on. Where do you live?

Seriously, I'm curious?

[LeftyMom]

36. Canadian hatred issues?

OMG, I thought you were serious for a while, but I'm calling poe now. There's no way you're for real. :rofl:

[Harper_is_Bush]

37. or just condescending issues.

maybe "hatred" is too strong, but you're obviously thinking it's ok to demean Canadians.

[LeftyMom]

38. Congratulations, you've figured out my anti-Canadian bigotry.

:boring:

[Harper_is_Bush]

24. That's correct

I was asked in a very rude manner in the topic you're probably referring to.

As well, I've provided the links many times before in topics about Sea Shephard previously.

So, it's my perogative to decide if I'm not going to do your homework.

You have the basic information...."Captain" Watson lied about the circumstances of a Canadian MP leaving office. He made it out to be his own doing, when in fact the MP was leaving for other reasons.

So, sorry about that. The truth's a bitch.

[Name removed]

31. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[slowry]

39. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. http://www.democraticunderground.com/forums/rules.html">Click hereto review the message board rules. freeper troll ftl

[Algorem]

29. good interview

http://www.wamu.org/programs/dr/07/11/13.php#17957

[Duppers]

13. Bravo! nt

nt

[Matilda]

16. My dream for November 24th:

Prime Minister Rudd will announce that Australia will sign the Kyoto Protocol.

And on Sunday 25th, he'll send the Australian Navy to intercept Japanese whalers.

[rjones2818]

17. Throw some 'researchers' in...

and let the whales hunt! That might provide some good video footage and some good research!

[LeftyMom]

25. Unlike the whalers, the whales are harmless.

It's cold as Hel down there, so you'd have whalersicles after a few minutes anyhow.

[Thothmes]

41. Not Quite

The sailors on the Essex would disagree with your statement

[LeftyMom]

45. Sunk by a sperm whale. A toothed whale, not a very close relative of any the whalers are going after

The whales they're going after (minke and humpbacks) are baleen whales, which filter feed, rather than toothed whales, which hunt. Needless to say, filter feeders are much slower and less agressive as a general rule, since plankton doesn't put up a fight, unlike the giant squid sperm whales eat.

These whales are quite harmless.

[Blashyrkh]

20. Woohoo! I look good by association.

[Judi Lynn]

26. Whoever heard of any scientist who sells his research so people can eat it?

I seem to have no idea of how the world works if this is hard for me to grasp.

They go to get slaughter whales, to better "research" them, then they butcher them, put them in cans, and sell them in stores. What does their research tell them? That they can get by with anything as long as they lie their asses off to the world about their true motives, which can't be proven legally?

[LeftyMom]

30. They're researching the profitability of selling whale flesh in 21st century Japan. nt

[alarimer]

44. There is plenty of research that goes on without killing them

Satellite tags. And the also study the ones that wash up on the beach occasionally.

The "research" is just so they can get around the ban, which only allows subsistence whaling and whaling for research. But they are not doing actual research.

Also Japan and Norway pay off small Caribbean countries to get their votes on the IWC. I read somewhere that the island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines also engage in "subsistence" whaling. They are allowed 1 a year. I think it is probably a fraud. I have never heard of any tropical nation or people engaging in whaling in history. Usually when I think of whaling people, I think of the Inuits, some West Coast tribes, Japan but definitely not small tropical islands. At least I have never heard of Carib peoples whaling. Fishing, yes.

[Odin2005]

46. Japan's whaling activities is all about pandering to conservative nationalist voters it seems to me.

Politicians would sell their soul to the Devil to get votes if they could.

[alarimer]

50. Yes there does seem to be an element of nationalism here.

"You can't tell us what to do". Just like they initially refused to surrender in WWII, even after it was apparent they were losing.

I guess the only thing that will stop the slaughter is for Japan to take an economic hit for this. I don't know if a boycott is feasible but clearly bad publicity is not helping.

Norway and Iceland also continue to hunt whales but I do not know to what extent.

[Bonobo]

52. You are 100% correct and the problem is that our arrogant attitude plays into it.

[judaspriestess]

33. I donate monthly to the Sea Shepard Conservation Society

to help them stop this barbaric practice. I am so sick of ANY AND ALL animals being slaughtered inhumanely. And I most certainly against whales and dolphins being savagely murdered. Did anyone see the footage of the dolphin slaughter a few weeks ago by the Japanese? Where the young actress Hayden Pannatiere(I think I spelled it right) was over there trying to stand between the murderers and the dolphins?

The dolphins were swimming in their own blood!! It was horrific

[alarimer]

43. Send those whale-watching boats out to photograph the slaugher of humpbacks

I am not sure the Japanese government would pay any attention to the resulting bad publicity but maybe the rest of the world would start boycotting Japanese products.

[LeftyMom]

47. It's cold, rough seas (with icebergs) out in one of the remotest areas on earth.

Not really a spot to send tourists in near-shore excursion boats. Unless you've insured them well and aren't too attached.

[alarimer]

51. I wasn't aware of that.

I guess there is a reason they do no do it when the whales are in the calving grounds around Hawaii and the Caribbean. No photos.

Well maybe somebody other than tourists should do it then.

I am not even sure all the bad publicity will stop them.

[LeftyMom]

53. Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd both get stills and video.

Greenpeace more than Sea Shepherd, due to differing missions and differing equipment (until recently, the ship Sea Shepherd had was s-l-o-w.)

[Barrett808]

48. Banner drop in Perth: "Howard is allowing the slaughter of 50 humpback whales in our waters"

50 Humpback Whales to be KILLED: TAKE ACTION !
http://perth.indymedia.org/index.php?action=newswire&parentview=115147

[go west young man]

49. Sperm Whale watching is a tourist attraction in Australia.

The Japanese are directly effecting their economy when they kill sperm whales. http://www.whalewatching.com.au/ I hope the rest of the world pays attention when it comes to wildlife issues. Canada's Seal Hunt needs to be Canada's Seal watching season.

[Endangered Specie]

54. What Sea Shepard really needs is one of these: