Sea Shepherd: All 3 of our ships depart today

[onestepforward]

Tweeted 2 hours ago:

"SeaShepherd Sea Shepherd
All 3 of our ships depart today for the Southern Ocean. Operation Divine Wind has begun."

As usual, I wish the Sea Shepherds the very best. I am concerned this year seeing that the whalers received $30 million, which was intended for tsunami relief, to boost their fleet's defenses.

Stay safe, Sea Shepherds!

[JohnyCanuck]

1. Tsunami Relief: Help People Not Whalers, sign the petition

Right now, the Japanese whaling fleet is barrelling south to hunt thousands of majestic whales, escorted by a 30 million dollar security force paid for out of the tsunami disaster relief fund!

Anti-whaling champions were successfully blocking the Japanese whale hunt -- which is exactly why the Japanese government decided to swipe money from relief efforts to stop the activists from bothering the boats while they engage in their brutal slaughter.

If we can stop the whaling security and get the relief money back for desperate Japanese citizens still languishing in radioactive hotspots, we could help end the whale hunt for good. Japanese PM Noda is already under enormous pressure after scandalous failures to compensate victims of the nuclear disaster. A massive global outcry can spark outrage inside and outside Japan and force Noda to use precious relief funds to save people, not kill whales - sign the petition on the right and share this campaign with everyone.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/japan_disaster_funds_whaling_c?cl=1453598136&v=11616

[onestepforward]

2. Signed!

Thanks for posting the link!

[xocet]

5. Thanks for the link! n/t

[Violet_Crumble]

6. Just signed it. Thanks for posting the link! n/t

[ceile]

10. signed! n/t

[Thumper79]

12. Signed

[spooked911]

3. cool-- I am SO following them on Twitter now!

they are awesome

[onestepforward]

14. Good!

I enjoy reading their updates. The dolphin reports from Taiji can be heartbreaking.

[DirkGently]

4. Go get 'em, Paul.

[lennysub55]

7. Watson

Watson is a coward and an idiot. I initially watched the show because I hoped they were doing some good but they are only hurting their cause with their antics. The worst were Watson pretending that he was shot from the Japanese ship and the Sea Shepherds claiming that two members of their crew were kidnapped. I switched off after that. There are better ways to try making a difference.

[pasto76]

8. I watch because I like to think how I would do it differently, and I like footage from the south sea

Watson is rather a fool. Maybe a OK strategist, but his tactics are poor. Last year's debacle where the fast boats were stranded showed how poorly thought out this all is.

[Downtown Hound]

16. Sea Shepard are all volunteers

Normal people from all walks of life. Many of them have no experience doing this. Yes, it's not always neat and pretty, and mistakes are made, but overall the Sea Shepard gets the job done. If you think you can do better, by all means, volunteer.

[grantcart]

9. What an interesting reply for your very first post at DU;

Normally I like welcoming new folks to DU but in your case I hope that you have a Merry Intersection (with the) Residents here.

[chervilant]

19. And,

such divisive, judgmental, negative naybobs are proof positive that we need the ignore option ASAP.

[Downtown Hound]

15. "There are better ways to make a difference."

Name one. Name one other organization that has done as much to stop whaling and cut down the number of whales killed than Sea Shepard has done. Twice now they have stopped the whaling season early, and every year they've gone out, the Japanese numbers of whales killed hasn't come anywhere even close to their quotas.

I just love armchair warriors that sit in the comfort of their own homes and lambast those out there risking their lives and doing the heavy lifting and actually making a difference while doing nothing but bitching on a computer.

[MADem]

21. I've never heard of these guys. I do have an interest in the subject matter, though.

I haven't been paying a lot of attention to the topic lately, though.

I have heard of THESE guys: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/oceans/whaling/

When whale flesh and fat can be convincingly cloned and sold as a foodstuff, this issue will abate. Until then, it's an ongoing matter.

[LeftyMom]

22. Greenpeace doesn't do anything about whaling but use it to raise funds.

They don't even send a ship to the southern ocean anymore, but they did do a weird PR tour around Japan a few years ago where they sent some staffers to eat whale with some old lady in a photo op.

[MADem]

23. Really? Interesting!

I remember how they used to go out there with boats and banners, and got some great pictures.

[LeftyMom]

24. They don't even do that any more. Haven't for years.

I guess they got enough shots to fill their brochures.

[MADem]

25. Isn't that a shame--and they had such a good 'brand name' too! nt

[Downtown Hound]

26. Paul Watson (the captain running the Whale Wars campaign)

is actually one of the original founders of Greenpeace. He left them years ago because he felt they had basically become a bunch of wimps.

[MADem]

27. I learn a new thing every day here--TY for that background. nt

[chervilant]

18. Better Ways?

First of all, your opinion of Mr. Watson is neither a definition of him, nor is it shared by those of us who admire his activism in defense of a vital part of our precious ecosystem.

Second, Mr. Watson did NOT pretend to be shot, and the Shepherds didn't 'claim' that two members of their crew were kidnapped.

If you're going to post divisive, judgmental and sarcastic drivel, please--at least get your facts straight.

[flvegan]

20. Spoken by someone comfortably

sitting at his/her computer in the relative safety of their home.

Coward? Guess that's an opinion you're allowed to have from there.

[ceile]

11. I always worry about them.

Stay safe!

[onestepforward]

13. Me too.

It's looking like this year will be the most dangerous. With the extra $30 million, the whalers will have armed security ships, Coast Guard officers and more.

[blackspade]

17. Wishing them luck on another successful season!

[ZombieHorde]

28. They should target whaling ships from the US, Norway, or Russia.

I think mixing up the ethnicity of the "bad guys" for a while would be good.

I am also curious how different countries would handle them.

[LeftyMom]

29. Sea Shepherd has previously damaged or sunk Spanish, Portugese and Icelandic whaling ships,

in addition to actions aimed at stopping the seal slaughter in Canada and shark finning in Central America. And that's just stuff I can think of off the top of my head.

The implication that there's some ethnic bias at work is absurd.

edit: and tuna poaching in the Mediterranean.