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Sea Shepherd, whaling protester Watson take their feud public in NZ

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Buuhhaaaa, You sink it! No you sink it! You sink it and we'll say the Japanese did it! Wait, what?

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The exchange has exposed a bitter falling out between Bethune, who shot to international prominence because of the high-seas drama, and Watson, the figurehead of Sea Shepherd’s campaign against Japan’s Antarctic whaling program.

What's in a name?

That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet...

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Why I am not surprised. Looks like SS is sinking itself right no.

And of course whose statement should we trust about the collission after this little spat became public.

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Watson, a Canadian, said the scuttling of the Ady Gil was Bethune’s decision.

Ooooh, that makes me cringe.

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Doesn't take away the fact the Japanese rammed it in the first place.

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Given that THAT is an SS statement that ""the whalers rammed the AG and given their conflicting statements over the last year.

I would say their credibility ratings are very low right now.

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It all sounds a bit fishy!

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Hahaha! Hilarious. It's obvious Watson is a douche. I mean, he is basing his whole argument on an edited piece of film that captures Capt. (I'm going to board your boat, demand you pay for the ship and further demand you take me to safe harbor) Berthune saying that ‘yes, I guess we’re going to have to let it go,’. This is probably after Watson ordered the ship scuttled. I love these knuckleheads.

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what a bunch of bumbling idiots

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The Ady Gil—a sleek, wave-piercing trimaran that resembled a spider-like stealth bomber—set the speed record for a power boat circumnavigating the globe in 2009

Well, with all that speed, it does seem that he would have easily been able to avoid the collision if so desired. Big, heavy wailing ships just can't maneouver that fast.

Distruction from within! Can't wait to see the moviel

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shinjukuboy.

But a light fast vessel could have nudged the SM2 enough to take some damaged and not endanger it or make it beyond salvageable.

I think "Whale Wars" will be moved to Skiffy or Fox channel soon.

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Watson is a big fat liar and Buthane is an immature tosser but probably not a big fat liar like Watson.

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This sentence should help to open eyes to how Watson and his bunch of morons lie to gain publicity:

Sea Shepherd announced during Bethune’s trial it would not let him participate in further protests, but after his release said the ban was a tactic to help him avoid prison and that he was free to rejoin.

Watson will do/say anything to keep his ugly mug in the spotlight.

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It was obvious all along that the sinking was odd. The decision to tow was taken assuming the boat must be salvageable. The nose had been whacked, for sure, but the rest of the boat was fine.

It seemed at the time that the Bob Barker had either deliberately sunk it, or stupidly pulled it in such a cack-handed way that it had filled with water and sunk.

Interesting to see that the truth will out, and that it lies somewhere between these two people. I suspect that Watson still feels it is OK to tell porkie pies in the service of a greater cause.

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Pete strikes me as a guy who'd be fun to have a pint with now and then, but a nightmare to be married to. A teller of tales, and adventurer, and a reckless lover of life.

Watson on the other hand, is just an embarrassment to my home nation. I just read his post about Bethune's re-expulsion on his own website. (his name . com) He says the SS paid half a million dollars to Bethune's defense lawyers. That strikes me as rather incredible.

Any lawyers here who could tell us if that sounds reasonable if the dollars are say, American, Canadian, New Zealand, or Australian? Did he mean Hong Kong dollars?

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This article is somewhat different to those in international newspapers. Bethune has spat the dummy because SS has disowned him due to his testimony in the Japanese courts stating PW ordered him to board the Japanese whaling ship.

Glenn Inwood, a New Zealand-based spokesman for Japan’s Tokyo-based Institute of Cetacean Research, said both Watson and Bethune had “told so many lies over the last few months it’s hard to believe either of them” on the issue of the sinking of the Ady Gil.

We wouldn't expect Glen Inwood to be telling any porky pies, would we?

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Would like to hear what the Owner of the ADiy Gil has to say about HIS boat being sunk by SS and if he will still pay for the AG2.

I would say the AP is one of the big international news suppliers/distributors.

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Sea Shepherd deliberately sank its own high-tech protest boat after a January collision with a Japanese whaling ship to gain sympathy, the former skipper alleged Thursday in a public spat with the conservation group’s founder.

Bethune told New Zealand’s National Radio he believed Watson wanted the sinking to “garner sympathy with the public and to create better TV.”

Ho-hum.

Lefties in the environmental movement are no different than the ones in other pursuits of 'social' justice who make false claims or stage 'hate' crimes.

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"The Ady Gil—a sleek, wave-piercing trimaran ....—set the speed record for a power boat circumnavigating the globe in 2009," and was rammed by a whaling ship? Give me a break!

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Disillusioned, can you direct us to any such porkies? I have an open mind, but will go with innocent until proven guilty.

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Looks like 5 months in jail was all it took to straighten out that Bethune bloke.

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MisterCreosote, please stick to the topic at hand and stop trying to hijack every single thread to make snipes about American partisanism.

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Watson, a Canadian, said the scuttling of the Ady Gil was Bethune’s decision. “Pete is on camera saying ‘yes, I guess we’re going to have to let it go,’ so it was his decision and actually wasn’t mine,” Watson told National Radio.

Watson was the skipper, but refused to take responsibility for his own orders. The high seas are no place for a coward and a liar.

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This whaling topic is getting really boring, I say we should resurrect the Ady Gil, apoint the captain of the Chinese trawler as skipper, and have another go at the round the world record.

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This news... is not a surprising.

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Bethune certainly proved to everyone that he was no rocket scientist. But I have to tip in his favor here, I don't think he's quite the manipulating liar that Watson is. And yes, Bethune probably told the truth that Watson ordered him to climb onboard the whaler. Hence the Japanese issuing an arrest warrant for Watson. As to SS spending 500,000 dollars on Pete's legal defense, I sure did't see it. Did anyone? If I were stupid enough to be a SS contributor I'd be looking for an audit. There are plenty of anti-whaling NPOs that aren't run by a megalomaniac criminal and a liar.

gogogo at 03:30 PM JST - 7th October Doesn't take away the fact the Japanese rammed it in the first place.

OT, debatable and totally irrelevant to the article.

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Neither of these two idiots help the anti-whaling cause in my opinion. Until they concentrate on the simple fact that Whale meat has high mercury content and poses health problems, they really won't be able to sway public opinion. After all, if killing large mammals is abhorrent, then we'd better give up beef as well.

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The whole whaling issue, whether for against, is so full of lies that it's all a bad joke. War by public relations is never going to produce anything but spin, spin, spin.

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Any lawyers here who could tell us if that sounds reasonable if the dollars are say, American, Canadian, New Zealand, or Australian? Did he mean Hong Kong dollars?

maybe zimbabwe dollars?

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Sea Shepherd announced during Bethune’s trial it would not let him participate in further protests, but after his release said the ban was a tactic to help him avoid prison and that he was free to rejoin.

Thanks guys for giving us gaijin that little extra credibility if we find ourselves in difficult circumstances in Japan.

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The truth finally came out.

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Here is a scenario that comes to mind.

Watson orchestrated it all. 1.) Told Bethune to ram the whaling ship and deliberately add damage to the AG. Not tough for a skipper that helped design the boat and has much experience on it.

2.)When the AG didn't sink as planned he ordered her scuttled. Recording of Bethune seems to be from an ongoing conversation where he agrees with someone(Watson?), not the wording used if it was his idea.

3.)Later Watson orders him to board the SM2.

4.) Shenanigans about the bow and arrow and Bethune being expelled, etc.

Remember that is just a mental exercise, but it does sound plausible, no?

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First,this is a csse of he said/he said. Second, the Ady Gil was made of carbon fiber and if you watched "Whale Wars" the front end was completely sheared off and from what I know about carbon fiber would be next to impossible to repair. Maybe equipment could have been salvageable.

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Naah, you just need to replace the damaged sheets/sections. Ditto for F1 cars, Motorbikes, etc that also use it.

Also hulls and outriggers are build in sections/compartments so if one section gets flooded it won't sink the whole ship.

Shearing of one or 2 sections in the front won't get a boat/ship to sink.

But that is besides the point SS claimed publicly that the whalers caused so much damage that it sunk. And now it appears that it was damaged but fine and they sunk it themselves.

Someones pants are smoking from where I stand.

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It's somewhat disappointing that the moderator has decided to take time off from this thread because it would appear that the initial collision between the SM2 and the Ady Gil isn't actually relevant to this story. What is relevant is who decided to scuttle the boat - the SS organisation or an individual member.

But I think I need to address a couple of individual points:

Firstly - Would like to hear what the Owner of the ADiy Gil has to say about HIS boat being sunk by SS and if he will still pay for the AG2.

The owner of the AG has fully endorsed Pete Bethune's decision to resign from the SS (according to New Zealand newspaper reports)

Disillusioned: This article is somewhat different to those in international newspapers.

Absolutely - the New Zealand newspapers (for example) are FAR more critical of the SS methods than they were before.

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And I'm genuinely stunned that anyone is surprised that there are question marks over what the SS has said. I'm almost certain that everything they have said in regards to this collision starting from the 'cut in two' claim has been proved to be inaccurate at best and a complete fabrication at worst.

I look forward to hearing Cleo's comments as she has always maintained that the SS speak the truth and the Japanese have lied. But yet again there is evidence to suggest that the SS and Paul Watson especially are full of s...

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More than Cleo's comments I am waiting for KeikoTokyo, etc to post here.

Just don't see how anti-whalers can put a spin on this that it is japanese propaganda, etc.

Also would like to hear how the SS-Supporters feel right now about SS, etc.

Heda_Madness.

Ths for the update on the Ady Gil owner. Didn't expect him to be happy.

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Well here is what Ady Gil, the Owner of he scuttled vesel has to say:

"However, the American businessman who donated $US1 million ($1.02 million) towards the high-speed boat which bore his name, Ady Gil, has backed Mr Bethune's claims, telling Radio New Zealand that Mr Bethune was pushed into agreeing to sink the vessel.

Mr Gil said Mr Watson used publicity stunts to get funding for the organisation."

At the Sydney Morning Herald site: /environment/whale-watch/green-group-accused-of-sinking-ship-for-a-stunt-20101007-169u7.html

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Sea Shepherd deliberately sank its own high-tech protest boat after a January collision with a Japanese whaling ship to gain sympathy, the former skipper alleged Thursday in a public spat with the conservation group’s founder.

Well here we thought they'd sacrifice their first born for saving a whale and support members of their own group but we can see that they backstab each other with great pleasure. I really hope Sea Shepherd gets done for insurance fraud if they try to collect on the Ady Gil's insurance. This will really give them credibility in the eyes of their supporters who are so pyscho with anger at whaling that they cannot see the ocean for the whales. Scuttling a carbon fiber craft? That stuff has properties of asbestos. Doesn't sound to environmentally friendly to me as this group of thugs try to make themselves out to look. FAIL in a major way.

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Clowns. These people are helping no-one, especially not the whales. Their antics build more opposition than sympathy.

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omg!!! this cant be true!!!!!!! AND to think i really trusted what they had to say!!! ...along with alot of the worlds media

Betrayed!

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What better way to up the donations to the anti-whale people then becoming front page on the newspapers to TVs or radios.

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Whale Wars becomes Wail Wars. Hahahaha!!

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News only for the sheep.

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They sank their own boat the Ady Gil by passing up one side of the ship dragging a rope and a bouy to tangle the ship's prop. It then stupidly turned in front of the ship and destroyed itself. Then they decided to to do a proper job and scuttled it.

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Watson is a big fat liar and Buthane is an immature tosser but probably not a big fat liar like Watson.

I am strongly anti-whaling but agree with this assessment.The anti whaling movement is much bigger than just these stupid guys and we would be better off without them

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@mikehuntez

I really hope Sea Shepherd gets done for insurance fraud if they try to collect on the Ady Gil's insurance.

Great point here. But I doubt these idiots even thought that far. Remember how they said they planned to make the Ady Gil 2 from the insurance money? I hope that plan has been scuttled just like the boat was.

“It was all done in secret. I was ordered not to tell any of the crew, not my family and especially not Ady Gil, the owner of the boat,” Bethune said, referring to the U.S. businessman who funded the vessel.

I hope Ady Gil goes apeshit too.

The crowing line of the article has to be:

“Paul Watson was my admiral. He gave me an order and I carried it out,”

What a child. "Paul Watson was my admiral". Jesus, I bet PW orders all SS people to call him that to further inflate his ego.

I know a guy who drives a train for a living, should I call him the Minister of Transport?

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Mr. Dog.,

Based on my deep understanding of naval terminology (picked up from watching season 2 of Battlestar Galactica), an "admiral" is someone who commands more than one vessel. (As in the Galactica AND the Pegasus).

So if Watson commanded the Gil, as well as the Barker & Irwin, from whichever boat he was on, that would make him as much an admiral as Admiral Adama, right?

(And just as much a character living in a fantasy, but that's neither here nor there.)

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Interesting quote from Watson on the SS homepage in their "Media and News" section:

We still will be providing you with funds for the Ady Gil despite having spent a half a million on your defence and despite the fact that the vessel was lost because you were negligent. We have put the best face possible on it but let’s be honest Pete, there is no excuse for not having your vessel under control in the vicinity of a hostile ship. The Shonan Maru #2 was able to destroy your ship because you allowed them to do so. You took no evasive action. You and your crew were busy thumbing your noses at the Japanese and ironically laughing at how ineffective they were. You lost the ship Pete and if you were in the Navy you would have been court marshalled for what you allowed to happen.

LOL. Turns out the crew of the Ady Gil were to blame after all...

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@taj

Based on my deep understanding of naval terminology (picked up from watching season 2 of Battlestar Galactica), an "admiral" is someone who commands more than one vessel. (As in the Galactica AND the Pegasus).

So if Watson commanded the Gil, as well as the Barker & Irwin, from whichever boat he was on, that would make him as much an admiral as Admiral Adama, right? (And just as much a character living in a fantasy, but that's neither here nor there.)

Yeah, but in Battlestar Galactica, they were in the military. In my old job I used to be responsible for 6 other people, I dodn't get them to call me Sergeant because I'm not a manchild like PW and PB are.

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Sorry, for my sillines, MrDog. Really, you did bring up a key point.

Watson is saying Bethune was captain of his own vessel, as is Watson, and therefore Bethune had full responsibility for what happened. (captain to captain or manager to manager.)

Bethune is saying, no, Watson was a superior officer and I was under his command, therefore what I did to my ship under his orders is his fault.

If Watson has been getting people to call him Admiral before now, that will certainly stop (at least until this blows over - maybe by November)

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You lost the ship Pete and if you were in the Navy you would have been court marshalled for what you allowed to happen.

Again, Watson is distancing himself and SS from a command structure - emphazing the difference between SS and a military organization.

Pete pulled the plugs. He's not denying that. He's just saying he was ordered to. And Watson's saying Pete was free to do as he chose.

Pair of idiots.

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It seems that Sea Shepherd has been exposed for being back stabbing liars they truly are. I hope they get their just rewards for acting like the spoiled children they are. Now would you really trust your life to an organization as cannibalistic as this one even if you are anti whaling or vegar or whatever your cause?

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hokkaidoguy at 02:32 PM JST - 8th October Interesting quote from Watson on the SS homepage in their "Media and >News" section: The Shonan Maru #2 was able to destroy your ship because you allowed >them to do so. You took no evasive action. You and your crew were busy >thumbing your noses at the Japanese and ironically laughing at how >ineffective they were.

Remarkable. To think I spent all those typed words arguing with the SS supporters who were adamant that the ADY GIL WAS TRYING TO EVADE THE SM2 and that instead of evading(my words) "Bethunes crew were laughing on deck like a bunch of stoned high school students". I can't believe Sea Shepherd confirmed everything I said.

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OssanAmerica; doesn`t change the fact that your heroes destroyed the boat on purpose.

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stevecpfc at 12:35 AM JST - 9th October OssanAmerica; doesn`t change the fact that your heroes destroyed the >boat on purpose.

Wow, still believing in tooth fairies? AG moved forward into the path of the SM2. In Sea Shepherds owns words, the AG made no effort to evade. But this is as your comment OT. Put it to rest.

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Watson is now talking about suing Bethune in court for defamation.

radioaustralianews site dotnetdotau/stories/201010/3033636.htm?desktop

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Haha. Heard an interview with Paul Whatson. He's there now saying Bethune brought a crossbow AND a 50 Cal rifle onboard against Sea Shepherds weapons policy. Wow like that would have gone unnoticed. Well I hope Pete salvaged it before sending Ady to the bottom so he can take aim at Admiral Paul WhatsOn. Like first of all where would he get one in NZ or Australia? How would he conceal a weapon like that on the Steve Irwin and get it on the Ady Gil too? What would he use it for and why would he use it? When would he use it and not be found out? Paul WhatsOn is so full of crap he may actually say he'd been shot by that rifle and expect dumb environmentalist freaks to believe it and they probably would they are so gullible. What a whore to a TV camera this fat slob and embarrassment of a Canadian is. I'd love to see him arrested but he is smart enough to do the Hitler thing and manipulate the useful idiots around him into doing his dirty work for him while keeping his hands clean of the blood. This is so evident with the new Wail Wars going on now. Pathetic Fool.

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This is why the general public has no interest in environmental issues, because you have total whack-job egomaniacs passing for "experts" in the field on TV. Good riddance, I say!

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Plo She Shepherds are hanging their heads in shame. Too embarrassed to post on this subject when they have been proven wrong.

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Pro that is.

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Global warming, polar bears being wiped out, more tropical storms, the Left is just wrong wrong wrong. Where are they? Why won't they back up their hero Watson?

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Wow, will this thing never end? Both sides of the Sea Shepherd argument have now disgraced themselves and each other publicly, like a pair of spoiled celebrity ex-BFFs. I was never a fan of them in the first place, but couldn't they at least limit the damage to everybody on their side by settling this behind closed doors?

The whalers, government, right-wingers and ultranationalists of Japan are all laughing at you, joined in by most of the Western world. You're truly taking attention away from the cause you supposedly believe fervently in. Do they even remember it's supposed to be about saving whales? FOOLS.

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