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© 2013 AFPFugitive eco-warrior Paul Watson back in U.S. after 15 months at sea
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OssanAmerica
Looking at Watson's past record, I can not disagree with what you say. Perhaps we could go back to 1977 or so when Greenpeace voted 11 to 1 to kick Watson out, That "1 vote" against was Watson himself .
Mike O'Brien
@OssanAmerica, I agree with the basics of your comment. But;
His belief in being above the law goes back a long way. It was already detectable at least back to the early 90's when he went to court in Canada and was convicted of a felony. It has just gotten worse since then.
toshiko
Maybe he realizes he is just a figurehead who has been hunted while other pirates are comfortably spending donations without fighting on courts,
OssanAmerica
You are right to the extent that this is pointless. There is no way to GUARANTEE that a person would or would not get a fair trial in any court anywhere on the planet, short of actually appearing in court. Court systems have an appeal system in the event that one does get an "unfair trial" and can substantiate it. Hence, I reject your argument that Watson was justified in fleeing from the Costa Rican summons on the grounds that he would "not get a fair trial". Put bluntly in the terminology of some posters here, it is "lame". My mentioning the Hague Convention was only to show that the judicial system of Costa Rica is a recognized one and not some fly-by-night kangaroo court with questionable jurisdiction. In which case it would be a reasonable assumption to conclude that ":Watson would not get a fair trial". But in the case of Costa Rica it is not. Let me terminate this exchange by stating that Watson is a sly and clever man, who has managed to make a good living by marketing "conservation" as a show, both in terms of protest campaigns and income from the Discovery Channel. He was extremely clever in taking advantage of Australia's widely unrecognized claim to the Antarctic waters, their nationalistic sentiment about it and the latent racism that some Australians harbor. He made it all work beautifully together. His show worked because he has lots of action, a villain and he gets to play the hero. Problem is that the hero role seems to have gone to his head and he actually began thinking that he was above the law. In all cases, people who think that way ultimately find that it is a temporary condition as the facts catch up with them. His being personally sued by Peter Bethune as well as Ady Gil shows his tendency towards megalomania and deterioration of credibility. Even a sly and clever man can succumb to naivite and foolish actions under those conditions. SS is without doubt reeling financially mostly from the legal costs not just in defending themselves from charges connected to their act of violence at sea, but because they seem to have let lawyers talk them into filing actions in various courts without much thought to objective gain, other than to make noise in the media. And example of their strong point becoming their weak point. Anycase, I hope this man gets put away for good as I consider that he has done more far damage to conservation efforts than good.
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Lowly
ControlFreak,
I think you missed the point of what I was saying.
arrestpaul
Watson claims he had permission from GUATEMALA to attack fishing vessels.
Watson then attacked a vessel in COSTA RICAN waters and forceably took it in tow.
COSTA RICA sent vessels to arrest watson and his eco-terrorist SS.
Watson (bravely?) fled before he could be arrested for violating local law(s).
Watson later (bravely?) fled Germany where he had been held on a lawful request.
Watson has now been hiding on one of his garbage scows for the last 15 months (at least according to Watson who is a known liar).
Watson and his eco-terrorist SS represent NO legal authority and have NO legal authority to attack, harrass, endanger or board ANY other vessel anywhere.
OssanAmerica
We are talking about a court system of a sovereign nation that is a member of the Hague Convention. It is a court system that can issue a warrant and get an Interpol red notice out. This is not some Kangaroo court in some unknown unrecognized country with dubious jurisdiction. Therefore, it is normal to expect that a "fair trial" can be had by all in this court. This is far from simple conjecture. To believe that one "can not get a fair trial" is the deviation from he norm and does indeed fall into the category of "conjecture" barring any substantiating evidence to support this claim.
You can not prove anything either, unless Watson goes to court and indeed gets an "unfair trial" and files an appeal on that basis. Yes, you are still going circles. The point is that a "belief that he won't get a fair trial" is not a valid justification to ignore the summons and go into hiding. Being guilty and therefore knowing that he could not win in court because of it would be a valid reason since the discomforts of being on the lam for over a year would not be as great as sitting in a Costa Rican prison. Please, you are going in circles by arguing the exact same thing over and over again.
ControlFreak
@Lowly--Priorities. You cannot make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. The shark finners break thousands of eggs and only churn out a few very expensive omelettes.
OssanAmerica
Nonsense cleo. If the charges are "trumped up" then they can be fought. Even easier than if they were not. The only way you can find out if you can get a fair trial is by gong to trial. To make that judgment in advance and to use it as an excuse to not appear in court and fight the charges is both cowardice and stupidity because the charges will remain even if you keep running. The only time that running is neither cowardice nor stupidity, although morally lacking, is when one knows they are guilty and can not win in court.
cleo
Or unless he suspects that the court is biased, which is not unlikely if, as he claims, the charges are trumped-up. You need 100% confidence of a fair trial, any doubt and you're better staying out of it.
OssanAmerica
Exactly. You claiming that Watson "would not get a fair trial" in Costa Rica is conjecture and not provable unless he answered the summons and appeared in court. Therefore to use that as a reason to justify not appearing in court is simply going around in circles.
OssanAmerica
To the same extent that you can guarantee that a Costa Rican Court is biased against Watson.
" criminals are those who impose their beliefs and wills on other people and cultures by acts of violence " - funny hearing this from a staunch Japanese right wing.
Funny you can't tell he difference between supporting US policy and Japanese right wing.
Lowly
Is that guy a warrior? Really?
Is he even eco? I mean he rides around in the ocean for months at a time in those gas-guzzling boats leaving all kinds of oil in the sea and fumes in the air.
AriesKJJ
Nice to see so many positive comments here. With Taiji opening a Whale watching tour and the culture in Japan changing maybe there's hope for these amazing animals. Nice to seee that Watson get's to go home the terrorists are the ones committing murder.
gogogo
Go go go Paul!
OssanAmerica
No he puts other peoples money where his mouth is. No wonder he got sued by Peter Bethune and Ady Gil.
And criminals are those who impose their beliefs and wills on other people and cultures by acts of violence.
ControlFreak
In 2011 Gordon Ramsay was covered in gasoline and held at gunpoint in Costa Rica for trying to film a documentary about shark finning. This was no doubt done by the Taiwanese mafia in Costa Rica. The police arrived and all they did was advise Ramsay to leave the country. Watson is concerned for his life. He is taking the advice given to Ramsay, and staying out of Costa Rica.
In 2003 a Costa Rican Coast Guard reported a Taiwanese vessel carry tons of shark fin. The relevant Costa Rican government agencies ignored the report. That and the police reaction to the mafia above show the level of corruption in Costa Rica. Of course Watson does not expect a fair trial there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_fin_trading_in_Costa_Rica
It is a more than a little astounding that people could hate Watson so much that they would side with the mafia. Maybe if some of you come to your senses you could do penance by rising up from your computer and going to go fight the mafia in Costa Rica yourselves. Then you can come back and diss Watson all you like and not look like a complete fool.
CoconutE3
Being a stewart for conservation is a dirty job but someone has to do it. This planet only has limited natural resources. We have to make sure it's passed onto our children & their grandchildren.
hoserfella
OssanAmerica - Agree or disagree with the man, but someone like Watson who puts his money where his mouth is and truly affects change at personal cost and danger is hardly a coward. Quite the opposite.
Cowards are those who continue to repeat the myth; "just leave the poor Japanese alone and talk to them quietly. In time they will see the errors of their ways"
First time I heard that was 20 years ago..
OssanAmerica
Because he is a coward. A person who is not a coward would not hesitate to go to court and clear his name. Unless of course he is guilty and know it. Upon what do you base your belief that "Costa Rican courts are not impartial"? Anything to support this allegation? Or just how you feel?
Mike O'Brien
Actually he claims that he did not participate in last winter's campaign.
You mean like the loophole Sea Shepherd uses to not pay taxes?
Of course they make no secret of it. Because the IWC's regulations REQUIRE them to process the meat.
Norway and Iceland are in complete compliance with the IWC regulations.
OssanAmerica
Who said there have never been any cases?
Loki520
I picked up a solitary piece of garbage. It was actually a MORE environmentally friendly act than anything Watsons done. He hasn't stopped anything... he hasn't changed anything. He never will because those that he actually needs to get on his side to effect change are disgusted by his pirate tactics.
Disillusioned
Wow! Whenever Paul Watson hits the news all the toasters come out. Regardless of what you think of him he has done a heck of a lot more for saving the environment than any of you have done from the comfort of your PC chair. He should be admired for his vigilance and not admonished for his discrepancies. SS will get my twenty bucks again this year. What did you do for the planet today?
nandakandamanda
JT has filed this under Crime, so that clears that up.
This guy is like a little dog, dodging around through people's legs. Maybe we can split the difference and call him an Eco-terrier.
OssanAmerica
OK,. please get back to me when you can explain how the above has anything to do with what we're talking about.
If everything you state above is true then Watson could have appeared in the Costa Rican Court, presented his case and won. But Watson felt he couldn't win, obviously because he couldn't prove it in court, so he decided to flee and become a fugitive. Why are you arguing for this man when even he himself doesn't have faith in his own story?
kimuzukashiiiii
if he was somalian this guy would be called a pirate...
Jeremy Rigby
Go Sea Shepherd, fund raising in Brisbane this weekend raising money to once again protect the Southern Oceans against Japanese Whalers in the approaching slaughter season!
Novenachama
There is a mountain of evidence that the tactics Paul Watson uses is by no means acceptable and are illegal, dangerous and totally ineffective at actually bringing about any meaningful change on reducing whaling. His motives are not necessarily so pure and he has a history of dishonest and outright criminal behavior. Do your research and check the facts. It's time Interpol takes care of business. After all he is on the most wanted list.
Nessie
We can't base judgments of his intelligence on his actions without knowing all the motives. In any case, his intelligence is irrelevant. What's relevant are the applicable laws, and the U.S. court has ruled that he broke them. He's back in the U.S. to lap up more of his delicious celebrity martyrdom.
ControlFreak
And patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel. Hardly means most patriots are scoundrels does it? Again, you have called someone's intelligence into question, and it is not Watson's.
If there was any justice to be had here, Watson would not have been under arrest for interfering with criminal activities in the first place. Watson had permission from Guatemala to stop vessels that were breaking the law by shark finning, and he did so with water cannons and boarding. He was then ordered to release the ship and did so. Now Costa Rica wants him extradited to Costa Rica for it?
This is madness. Where was the world police while those guys were shark finning anyway?
Watson might not be the first pick of law enforcers. But he is better than none.
Cos
Smart like a con artist. People like him are doing a huge disservice to the cause they use for their self-promotion. Seeing the the stunts, general public loses interest. Without these campaigns. if you had asked the average Japanese person about whaling, most would have said that if the animal was getting rare, that could be progressively stopped and fishers should be helped to reconvert. That would have happened in the 1980's. But now, that has become the case that most people want Japan to keep its stance on whaling as they don't want to let a group of psychopaths dictate the laws. I don't think it's the case, but the Japanese whalers could have paid him to do his circus, as that really reinforces their position more than anything else.
He is not innocent, he never claimed he was. He doesn't recognize the courts, the laws, the States, the rights of citizens of any country to vote for something he disagrees with. . His position is "I'm guilty and I will go away with it because they're all afraid of my gang.".
He is a pirate. Why eco ? I know he recycles his arguments, but he pollutes the seas...
rickyvee
btw, we can definitely see which way AFP leans by labeling watson an "eco-warrior" and not "eco-terrorist," which would be the most appropriate label.
ramses68
Speaking of ESP... I see perjury charges probably being handed out against Watson before this is all over... ;)
CGB Spender
You meant to write "Fugitive eco-terrorist". That guy and his crew belongs behind iron bars!
Ranger_Miffy2
Come on kids, play nice.
OssanAmerica
No you're comment is nonsense. "I won't get a fair trial" is the most common excuse given by those who are guilty. That's why when you run from a summons you prejudice your position. Sort of like resisting arrest. If you don't go to court how do you know you "won't get a fair trial"? ESP?
rickyvee
I disagree, especially in this case. "innocent" people run because only they think they are "innocent," in reality they've probably broken some law but claim to take some morally superior high ground. rubbish.
everything that watson does he does to gain attention, fame and glory. if he really believed he was "innocent," he would have fought tooth and nail to show the world that he was right. but since his actions are well documented and filmed by him and his crew and the japanese boats, he knows that he committed a crime. he's a vainglorious fanatic that deserves to be locked up.
DudeDeuce
At want point or which ex-girlfriend break-up made you become a Sea Shepherd supporter?
rickyvee
watson surely believes that the means always justifies the ends. but by doing so, he, and other eco-fanatics, only harden the resolve of the japanese government's intention to continue whaling. you don't win people over by bullying and harassing them.
BurakuminDes
16 months at sea mustve be pretty tough - he would sure have his sea-legs now! Good luck, Mr.Watson.
gogogo
Go Paul!
darknuts
Utter nonsense. People will run even if innocent if they feel they won't get a fair trail.
Heda_Madness
I forgot you lived in a parallel universe that allows people to storm boats, scuttle ships in the pristine waters of the Antarctica, where you can throw glass bottles at people whilst trying to disable boats in difficult seas. Unfortunately for Watson, in the real world that doesn't happen. Remember the court ruling last year "When you ram ships, hurl glass containers of acid, drag metal-reinforced ropes in the water to damage propellers and rudders, launch smoke bombs and flares with hooks; and point high-powered lasers at other ships, you are, without a doubt, a pirate,”
The Ninth Circuit hearing in Seattle continues today (Oct 31). The judges are hearing allegations of contempt of court against Watson and the Sea Shepherd, according to a Sea Shepherd spokeswoman.
fxgai
Some people like Paul Watson because they don't like whaling/fishing and therefore anything Paul Watson organizes against it is justified.
Other people don't like Paul Watson because he resorts to violence when he can't get things his own way, which is basically all of the time.
People fall into one of these two camps, no?
If he were running from NKorea or China because he tried his violent tactics against their interests, I don't think any Watson bashers would suddenly support him, they would be laughing at him for biting off more than he can chew.
Hardmentoughblokes
@ossanAmeria
Dude, what if they were against NKorea or China and running from them, you would support thm, dang it.
So many guys here have an agenda, i'll tell you what.
OssanAmerica
Have you any idea what living 15 months as a fugitive in hiding is like? That's not smart that's an act of cowardly desperation. Innocent people are never afraid to appear in any court and prove their innocence. Cowards and the guilty run and hide. Can you guess which one Watson is?
ControlFreak
Right. Smart men always run toward the fire. (sigh) You certainly have called someone's intelligence into question with that, but it was not Watson's.
OssanAmerica
Watson is hardly a smart man. If he were he wouldn't have had to spend the last year in hiding from the world.
hoserfella
arrestpaul - read it again. They are two separate Red Notices, and both frivolous. Watson is a smart man and would not make this move before knowing the probable outcome. He will be back on the high seas and fighting the good fight in no time!
arrestpaul
Typical Watson double-talk. He says there is no Red Notice at the same time he's saying he will fight the Red Notice. Looks like more "blah, blah, blah" to entertain his devoted zealots.
OssanAmerica
Great news. Watson can now be served in personam.