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Anti-whaling group says Australian police seized video of clashes

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So they should board the whaling ships as well and sieze whatever tapes they have of their activities! I would assume they (SS) made copies of the tapes and that they are now on their way to a safe place for editing and showing to the public. I wonder how much the Japanese had to pay for this cooperation?

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But the Japanese ships don't dock at Australian ports. The "Steve Irwin" did. It's sad that the only direct action by Australian authorities has been against anti-whaling activists. Presumably it demonstrates the economic leverage that Australia's biggest trading partner has.

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wonder how much the Japanese had to pay for this cooperation?

When your posiion is correct legally, you don't have to pay anything. Do you have to pay a cop to investigate a guy that mugged you?

Presumably it demonstrates the economic leverage that Australia's >biggest trading partner has.

So you discount the poossibility that Austalia may respect law and order and that SS are a bunch of eco terrorists accding to the IWC and FBI?

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About time. Now charge Watson with intentionally breaking COLREGs, nullify his license and delist the ship.

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What Australian law did the Japanese ships break? None, so even if they were in an Australian port the authorities would have had no cause to do anything. This bunch of self appointed eco terrorist however don’t follow any law. I don’t care if you agree or disagree with their stated aims, they have no right to take the law in to their own hands. If you say its alright for this bunch than you can’t deny others the same “right” & you might not like where that takes you, & the world.

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You mean they seized the video showing SS ship deliberately ramming another ship in international waters? Regardless of your position on whaling, you know that ramming another ship is definitely against international law.

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I would assume they (SS) made copies of the tapes and that they are now on their way to a safe place for editing and showing to the public.

Editing is exactly why the police need to take the raw tapes. Both sides only shows the parts that are convenient for telling their side of the story. I seriously doubt SS would ever release the entirety of their tape catalog to an impartial third party. It would be a good gesture if the Japanese waling fleet made public all of their unedited tapes, although SS tapes should be sufficient as they were actively recording all of their activities (even if those activities would never be viewed in their entirety by the public).

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Next time they will simply upload it straight from the ship!

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Ramming another ship amounts to piracy. Good that their tapes were siezed. I'm cancelling my Discovery Channel. I'm not giving money to a network which is sponsoring piracy.

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kanadamanada: Cancelling? Good... Don't slam the door on the way out please.

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"When your posiion is correct legally, you don't have to pay anything. Do you have to pay a cop to investigate a guy that mugged you?"

You may if the guy who mugged you is protected by the cops of another district.

Something's fishy here, and not the anti-whalers. Why not just let the videos air as they are and let the people decide? Or are there things that need to be hidden first?

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smithinjapan, "Why not just let the videos air as they are and let the people decide?" It's the SS folks who have been hiding the tapes so far, so you should be grateful to the Australian Police for giving the world the chance to see them. After seeing them you will have a chance to evaluate them by yourself.

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The police seized video being shot for the television series “Whale Wars” about the group’s campaign to stop a Japanese fleet from killing whales in waters off Antarctica, the Sea Shepherd said in a statement.

SO Australia has no laws against "Prior Restraint"? Some free country that is.

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Zybster: "so you should be grateful to the Australian Police for giving the world the chance to see them."

Are the Australian police going to do so? If they suddenly 'disappear' or are confiscated and not shown, will you still be singing the same tune?

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You may if the guy who mugged you is protected by the cops of another >district.

LOL. Honestly, what are the odds that a person will get mugged by a mugger who's protected by the police? That's just short of the mugger being protected by a superior alien race from another galaxy.

Something's fishy here, and not the anti-whalers. Why not just let the >videos air as they are and let the people decide? Or are there things >that need to be hidden first?

You're right that something is fishy, and it's the eco-terrorists. Police often confiscate evidence in advance so thwart any efforts to destroy or alter it.

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Zybster: "so you should be grateful to the Australian Police for giving >the world the chance to see them." Are the Australian police going to do so? If they suddenly 'disappear' >or are confiscated and not shown, will you still be singing the same >tune?

Rather than pointlessly raising speculative scenarios, why not wait until AFTER the tapes have dissappeared, if they dissappear at all?

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What Australian law did the Japanese ships break? None, so even if they were in an Australian port the authorities would have had no cause to do anything.

Actually, the Japanese are fishing in waters which are part of an Australian whale sanctuary (which the Japanese do not recognise).

http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/species/cetaceans/pubs/sanctuary-map.pdf

So if the whalers did dock in Australia, local authorities would have every right to take action. But the Japanese don't dock in Australia.

The part of this ongoing situation I find offensive is the attitude from some Japanese that Japan somehow has "traditional rights" to hunt whales thousands of kilometres from their own territorial waters using explosive harpoons and factory ships...

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Actually, the Japanese are fishing in waters which are part of an Australian whale sanctuary (which the Japanese do not recognise).

True. But you did fail to mention that what Japan does not recognize is actually Australia's sovereignty claim to the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT). The AAT is recognized by only four countries, namely, New Zealand, France, Norway and Great Britain. That antarctic part of Australia's exclusive economic zone and Australia's right to establish that as a wale sanctuary is therefore not recognized by most of the world.

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Most of these people making comments should check the law. It is Illegal to kill or use military grade weapons in Australian Arctic Sanctuary there is a court case to state this from 2008. This makes The whalers criminals and Sea Shepherd the cops. What about the footage from last year of Japan ramming the sea shepherd. Check your facts.

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I Japan does not recognize Australian sovereignty claim then i refuse to accept their claim to Japan. That's a choice I can make i suppose.

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The point is NO ONE NEEDS TO EAT WHALE MEAT. And that goes for some other types of meat as well.

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whyamiinjapan, and what would give you the right to tell everybody what they should eat or not? Unless this is human meat, which happens to be illegal AFAIK, people have the right to choose their own food, thank you very much.

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people have the right to choose their own food, thank you very much.

Zybster is quite right. People do have the right to choose their own food. They just don't have the right to choose who or what to kill.

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They just don't have the right to choose who or what to kill.

Or how to kill it.

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Ossan: "LOL. Honestly, what are the odds that a person will get mugged by a mugger who's protected by the police?"

Funny... I thought you lived in Japan. Getting mugged was a metaphor and the mugger being protected was a metaphor for how corrupt the Japanese are, and how it is indeed possible they have pressured Aussie authorities to simply 'collect' the footage. Besides, you ever hear of the yakuza? They're quite protected by police in many cases (to get back to the 'mugger' metaphor).

"Rather than pointlessly raising speculative scenarios, why not wait until AFTER the tapes have dissappeared, if they dissappear at all?"

Sheesh, you're really not quick on the uptake today. That was my point to Zybster, who said we should thank Australian police for releasing the footage (clearly jumping, since it hasn't been done). You'll note that I asked him if he'll change his tune IF the tapes were to disappear. Check out 'if' in the dictionary, you'll see that it does not mean 'something that has already occurred'.

Anyway, I agree with you... which is to say that I agree with my own point... that it's not clear what is going to happen to the tapes.

Zybster: "whyamiinjapan, and what would give you the right to tell everybody what they should eat or not?"

Where does whyamiinjapan say what you shouldn't eat? S/he says 'no one NEEDS to eat it'. That's a fact, not a piece of advice. Show me scientific proof that human beings NEED to eat whale meat and you have a guaranteed way of making the Japanese open up whaling again for good. You're right that no one has the right to dictate what others can/cannot or even what they should or should not eat (short of human flesh), but you're clearly mistaken in how you read the post you commented on.

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"...how corrupt the Japanese are..."

Allow me to qualify and say that I do not mean Japanese citizens in general. I mean the whalers, and very often Japanese police/government officials.

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The only problem at hand is that the SS folks are suspected of having endangered HUMAN lives, and there was no need for that. Now the law will deal with them. If their own footage doesn't show anything criminal then they will be let go. What's the need for this discussion?

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True. But you did fail to mention that what Japan does not recognize is actually Australia's sovereignty claim to the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT). The AAT is recognized by only four countries, namely, New Zealand, France, Norway and Great Britain. That antarctic part of Australia's exclusive economic zone and Australia's right to establish that as a wale sanctuary is therefore not recognized by most of the world.

But this is irrelevant to my point, which was that Japanese whalers could be arrested under Australian law if they landed in Australia. Whether Japan or anyone else agree with Australia's claim is immaterial.

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Another point you are all missing... the Japanese whaling fleet is BANNED from entering Australian ports. The Australian government has shunned the illegal activities of the Japanese whaling fleet and they are not permitted in Australian ports as a result.

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Australia has the right to refuse the Japanese fleet but it does not have the right to enforce laws within 200 miles of land they do not own. Antarctica shouldn't be CLAIMED by any nation just because they landed people there to cross it. In that case the USA owns the moon. So Australia is wrong if it's enforcing it's whale sanctuary in Antarctica. Those around it's own territory I'm fine with them enforcing. The Japanese have a lot more ocean to use for their hunt. I hope these tapes provide enough information to get SS off the high seas. They are a vigilante group that is fighting a war based on their emotions and not scientific fact. Japan is not depleting the whale populations of the world. They are limited and as it's not a high demand meat it is also indirectly regulated by consumer demand. It can remain a rare delicacy and that's fine with me.

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If what the Whalers are doing is illegal under Australian laws then it's up to Australia to enforce those laws. In all thee years they haven't. Which is proof that they themselves aren't confident in their position. In contrast the SS eco-terrorists are criminal vigilantes with a long record of putting human lives at risk by "ramming" other ships. They have been called terrorists by the IWC, FBI and Greenpeace doesn't want to have anyhting to do with them. That the Australian police have acted to confiscate evidence from SS is proof that their true criminal nature has been exposed to the world and no one with at least half a brain would support them, independent of whale issues.

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Unfortunately however, too many people think that its human life isn't as important as the lives of whales. They think that if people are hunting whales, then and since whale hunting is bad, that makes those people bad. That makes it ok if they get hurt or killed. Its their own fault for hunting whales. Fortunately the law doesn't make that distinction. SS people acted with reckless disgregard for the sanctity of human life. Endangering people, deliberately ramming ships. It would be inexcusable for Australia, or for that matter any other country to not act against these terrorists.

You can hate whalers, and whaling. You can protest all you like. You can voice your opinion. You may not endanger the lives of others in doing so however.

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They think that if people are hunting whales, then and since whale hunting is bad,....

...which it is....

that makes those people bad.

Depends on your definition of 'bad', I suppose; maybe not on the level of suicide bombers or kiddie rapers, but I certainly wouldn't want to invite them to any of my dinner parties. Or even give them the time of day.

That makes it ok if they get hurt or killed.

That's a non-sequitur I don't follow. So far two whalers have died, one last year, on this. Neither death was 'OK' in any sense of the word, nor was either death anything to do with SS but everything to do with whaler incompetence (or in the case of the 'man overboard' incident, perhaps something more sinister... we'll never know). I also don't see the people who put forward the argument that SS are endangering life rushing to condemn the whalers for using water cannon with the risk, intended or otherwise, of knocking people into the icy water.

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Cleo, have you seen a picture of SS recently? They are flying Jolly Roger. If they show themselves as pirates, they should be treated as such. Ramming other ships is an act of endangering human lives, so they also act like pirates. They condemn themselves.

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I would sure like to see those tapes. If I recall the news reports correctly, the rammed whaler was a tender that sped in front of the SS to block the SS from cutting the harpoon line. Of course the SS should take defensive measures to avoid a collision – but the rammed whaler may be the guilty party here, as it should not have intentionally crossed into the path of a vessel.

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upload all filming immediately to the net and they'll never lose their video again. Can't believe they weren't doing so already. Once burned...

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Give me one reason why one human life doesn't = 1 Whales life? If Japan wants to do research where is the information. I have personally asked for some of this research information or proof that this is what they are doing. I have had no response, so this is truly a farce. Japan has dropped the price of whale meat by 75% they can't even sell it. They feed it to their pets.

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Finally, the Aussies are going to act on complaints on the violations of COLREGS. Somebody is going to loose their captains license!

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So Australia is wrong if it's enforcing it's whale sanctuary in Antarctica. Those around it's own territory I'm fine with them enforcing.

You fail to recognise that millions of tourist dollars in Australia depend on whales. Those whales feed in the Antarctic in summer, not in continental Australian waters. I don't see why Japan by your argument appears to have more rights to the southern ocean than Australia.

The Japanese have a lot more ocean to use for their hunt.

If it's truly a question of Japanese tradition, I for one would be happy if the Japanese hunted whales in the traditional way - using rowing boats in their own territorial waters.

not scientific fact. Japan is not depleting the whale populations of the world.

Based on what scientific facts? We don't have sufficient data to know whether harvesting 1000 whales a year is sustainable. We do know that whaling on the scale of past commercial hunts nearly caused the extinction of several species. Japan doesn't have a great record with respect to sustainable fishing.

They are limited and as it's not a high demand meat it is also indirectly regulated by consumer demand. It can remain a rare delicacy and that's fine with me.

If they hunted in the traditional style it would be a truly traditional and very rare delicacy, and that would be fine with me. The whale hunt is paid for by the Japanese government and not regulated by the market. The whaling fleet wouldn't exist if the government subsidies were dropped.

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If I recall the news reports correctly, the rammed whaler was a tender >that sped in front of the SS to block the SS from cutting the harpoon >line. Of course the SS should take defensive measures to avoid a >collision – but the rammed whaler may be the guilty party here,

You recall totally incorrectly. The Whaler didn't exactly "back up" into the SS ship.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXQq78lvKrU

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The Japanese tuna catch is utterly unsustainable, and tuna reproduce at >a much higher rate. Japan doesn't have a great record with respect to >sustainable fishing.

According to Japan Tuna Fisheries Cooperative Association (Japan Tuna), Japan's largest association of deep sea tuna fishermen, 233 of its pelagic longline tuna boat operators will each suspend fishing operations for two to three month periods sometime from the start of August 2008 to the end of July 2010 in a bid to help tuna stocks recover following a large increase in tuna fishing over the past decade.

http://www.worldfishing.net/analysis/analysis.ehtml?o=2490

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ossan,

You recall totally incorrectly. The Whaler didn't exactly "back up" into the SS ship.

When a video is taken of 2 independently moving objects from another moving object, all floating on a on a medium which is itself moving and provides no reference points, the camera becomes the only apparently 'non-moving' reference point. This can be very misleading when viewed in isolation. I'm not sure I explained this at all adequately, but I hope you get what I mean. The commenter's recollection is not totally incorrect, just differing from yours- we'll all just have to wait and see.

Personally, I'm glad the Japanese have decided to pursue legal recourse, as is the Sea Shepherd organisation itself. Hopefully this will open the whole stinking whale hunt up to international scrutiny. The SS has a great deal of evidence of the use of water cannons, military grade acoustic weapons, metal balls, stun grenades etc. which I'm fairly sure will be viewed with some interest when taking the poor , defenceless whalers' pleas of harrassment into consideration- not to mention the killing of baby whales, the use of shotguns etc. on the unfortunate sea mammals and the fact that the whalers are in breach of Australian law and have been repeatedly told by the IWC to stop.

That the Australian police have acted to confiscate evidence from SS is proof that their true criminal nature has been exposed...

Yeah, right- what are the charges?

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funkmofo

Watch the video. Both ships are moving in the same directioon. The SS ship RAMS the other from behind. This doesn't take any deep analysis of reference points and such. The original poster's recollection is totally incorrect and so is your silly explanation.

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I'm sorry, I had no had no idea you were an expert on maritime safety. As I said, let's wait and see what evidence is uncovered by the AFP before we start convicting people, shall we?

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As far as I'm concerned any vessel flying black flag with skull and crossbones is a pirate and deserves no mercy. Any interference with a vessel legally operating on the high seas is piracy. I do not agree with waling unless for food. I do not agree with bull fights in Spain. Sharia law is repulsive and against my values. I will not patronize these places. But it is their custom and who are we to impose our customs on them?

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POOF, there goes Australia taking the Whalers to the ICR.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s government strongly opposes whaling, and during the 2007-08 season sent a Customs vessel to collect video and photographs of the Japenese fleet that officials said could be used as evidence in an international court case to stop the hunt.

Nothing came of the threat, and the government now says it prefers to use diplomacy to persuade Japan to stop whaling.

Somehow I am not surprised.

Also good that the Videos were seized, SS and their ways need to be stopped.

Maybe a few things will get cleared up in this whole mess.

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As far as I'm concerned any vessel flying black flag with skull and crossbones is a pirate

SS doesn't fly the skull and crossbones. They fly the skull and crossed trident and shepherd's crook.

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