Whale wars: Watch Eco-pussies attack japanese whalers, and fail hilariously

[Ladamaha]

I just watched the 6th episode of season 2 (the latest I guess) just to see how it is.

And well...

It just had this feeling of constant fail from the very beginning.

Cool secret codewords, which fail, awesome prop shattering devise which actually looks like rope which also fails. Everything just fails. Way exaggerated eye injury, "there was blood all over his face", when there wasn't even a scratch on the guy.

Then when bolts were thrown at them, they got furious how their non-violent attacks were responded with hostile action by the evil whalers. You won't think one of those bottles could hit someone in the head, no? "We got evidence with us." Oh, I think this series should be used as evidence to hang the whole crew of that idiotic hippy-vessel for act of terrorism (and generally for just being bunch of douches who got douche facial hair to look like sailors).

Actually I think they failed so bad they don't even deserve to be called eco-terrorists.



I might see another episode just to see what sort of idiotic stunts they do. I hope the whalers bring tear gas, I'm really cheering for them. Go, you whale hunting industrial little fellows!

[Elvis313]

I'd actually like to see some of this. Any sources?

[MattD1zzl3]

Bittorrent should be your first source, but they usually have a few full episodes up on the official site as well.

[WillDAQ]

Originally Posted by Elvis313

I'd actually like to see some of this. Any sources?

http://www.surfthechannel.com/show/77067.html

[WillDAQ]

Well, the 1st mate of fail has been fired and what a difference. The entire crew has been uprated from "fail" to "titanium balls".

[Elvis313]

Originally Posted by WillDAQ

Well, the 1st mate of fail has been fired and what a difference. The entire crew has been uprated from "fail" to "titanium balls".

Just watched intil S2 E6.
Is there an E7 yet? because the current 1st mate doesn't seem too "ballsy" either

[DarkReaper]

I always twinge when I hear any of them again muttering that they would gladly die to save a single whale. I mean wtf! Maybe one of them should just die because of their own stupidity and then see how well the rest of the crew hold up.

[MattD1zzl3]

Scene 1: "We'd all die to save a whale, we signed vouchers"!

Scene 2: "Nonlethal sound devices? Quick, rip some foam up from a seat cushion, lets all argue about unnecessary risk"


New episode today

[Elvis313]

just got this url from one of the harpoon-ships (it was printed on its side).
Some interesting pictures and videos there.
"ILLEGAL HARASSMENT AND TERRORISM AGAINST ICR RESEARCH"

[Blind_Io]

Brace yourselves.

I'm actually on the side of the space-hippies on this one.

Yes, they over-think things (code words, etc), but I actually like whales - I have ever since I was a kid. These "researchers" are using a loophole in international law to harvest whales. Yes they are extremists, yes they have woefully inadequate equipment and yes they are nutters for putting their lives on the line; and I kinda like them for it.

There is no reason to hunt whales in our modern age. Japan has so much whale meat they use it in dogfood. We don't need the oil for our lamps and synthetics produce better cosmetics than ambergris. There is absolutely no reason to kill these animals.

In the day of sail, when whale oil lit the lamps in lighthouses and protected the lives of sailors, the whales actually stood a chance. The whalers would have to chase them in wooden framed ships and long boats, harpoon them by hand and if they lived through the Nantucket Sleighride that followed, they would extract the oil by hand. Today they use powerful and fast ships, exploding harpoon heads, aircraft and GPS to track and kill entire pods of whales. The floating factory ship means they don't have to put in to port for months at a time.

Yeah, I guess I'm losing it when I start siding with the space-hippies, but I'm with them on this issue. Those ships belong on the bottom of the ocean.

[otispunkmeyer]

i dont care what these fruit cakes are trying to save or prevent... they are going about it completely the wrong way.

I mean what fucking retard rams his ship into another on purpose? the lack of logical thought from these hippy types is horrifically scary and even more so when you think they are gradually getting into positions of power within governments.... like the government needs any more completely irrational-illogical-idiotic-not-living-in-the-same-world-as-you-and-me-cluster-fucks. i mean look at the mess we are in now because the western world was being run by people who's minds just dont exist in this dimension.

do we need to hunt wales... i guess not... but we also dont need to be that frickin stupid in doing something about it. I hope that ship goes down, i really do just so that they get the message that what theyre doing is beyond rediculous

[Blind_Io]

I understand you point, Otis. At the same time there have been repeated attempts at working within the system to change Japan's whaling policy - they just ignore the rest of the world and do what they please. Every year they release another study to justify the killing of whales but the data they collect doesn't really mean anything or contribute to the scientific community. The cutting edge of whale research isn't on butchering them to weigh their stomach contents, it's on their social structure and language. The whalers are actually working against the rest of whale researchers by killing off the populations.

I know they are ill-equipped and more than a little bit nuts, but I do think their tactics are working. Every time the factor ship has to run from the Steve Irwin all their whaling operations stop - sometimes for days.

It's not the same as providing vital electricity to the population and greenhouse gas emissions. One is the byproduct of vital services upon which our entire civilization is based, the other is a pointless act of destruction.

I fully admit that these people are a bit crazy, but maybe we need a bit of crazy to deal with the insanity of killing whales for no good reason.

[MattD1zzl3]

No good reason? Let me educate you:

I don't see why killing whales (for food) is any more wrong than killing cows (we use that in dog food too). The Minke whale is no more endangered or threatened than a cow is, and if you want to talk about "dont stand a chance", have you seen a modern cattlefield and slaughterhouse recently?

And from that i can gather, their claim of being whale researchers is not complete bullshit, they kill far fewer whales than fleets in the parts of the ocean it is legal, and are basically trying to accomplish two things:

1. Determine the whale population

2. Determine the hardiness of the species in local waters

3. Determine the impact of dead whales on the local ecosystem

4. Use all of this information to campaign for unrestricted whaling in the antarctic sea. And they do this in a court of law, not by throwing things like little children.

They are researchers, who use the meat of the common and thriving whales they kill as food so it doesn't go to waste.

[phuckingduck]

I watch the show mainly to witness the shear audacity of the group who stands on the bridge all day. They have this righteous indignation towards the rest of their crew that is shocking. When they sent two guys up to the line locker to patch any holes from the captain ramming ice? GENIUS! Or every time they bitch out the RHIB crews for failing to implement horrible failtastic ideas that come from the bridge? HILARIOUS! I'm not sure if it's the fact that I'm the son of a merchant marine or if its just common sense but these people (mainly the ones on the bridge) piss me off to no end. Unfortunately I can't help myself from watching which I'm sure provides some sort of revenue to this group. There are days I want to drive up to the San Juans (where they're based) and give them a fucking safety lesson; not out of some hope they'll be more succesful but simply so they don't kill off all the people involved in the affair.

[Whappeh]

Originally Posted by Blind_Io

I understand you point, Otis. At the same time there have been repeated attempts at working within the system to change Japan's whaling policy - they just ignore the rest of the world and do what they please. Every year they release another study to justify the killing of whales but the data they collect doesn't really mean anything or contribute to the scientific community. The cutting edge of whale research isn't on butchering them to weigh their stomach contents, it's on their social structure and language. The whalers are actually working against the rest of whale researchers by killing off the populations.

I know they are ill-equipped and more than a little bit nuts, but I do think their tactics are working. Every time the factor ship has to run from the Steve Irwin all their whaling operations stop - sometimes for days.

It's not the same as providing vital electricity to the population and greenhouse gas emissions. One is the byproduct of vital services upon which our entire civilization is based, the other is a pointless act of destruction.

I fully admit that these people are a bit crazy, but maybe we need a bit of crazy to deal with the insanity of killing whales for no good reason.

I fully agree with you. If they manage to get better equipment, I think they could even manage to do a better job then they do.

[WillDAQ]

Originally Posted by Ladamaha

It just had this feeling of constant fail from the very beginning.

Cool secret codewords, which fail, awesome prop shattering devise which actually looks like rope which also fails. Everything just fails. Way exaggerated eye injury, "there was blood all over his face", when there wasn't even a scratch on the guy.

Believe it or not, that's progress! In the first season they couldn't launch a small boat without capsizing it and damaged the helicopter putting it out of action.

At the current rate of improvement they should be pretty formidable in a few years.

[Blind_Io]

Originally Posted by MattD1zzl3

No good reason? Let me educate you:

I don't see why killing whales (for food) is any more wrong than killing cows (we use that in dog food too). The Minke whale is no more endangered or threatened than a cow is, and if you want to talk about "dont stand a chance", have you seen a modern cattlefield and slaughterhouse recently?

And from that i can gather, their claim of being whale researchers is not complete bullshit, they kill far fewer whales than fleets in the parts of the ocean it is legal, and are basically trying to accomplish two things:

1. Determine the whale population

2. Determine the hardiness of the species in local waters

3. Determine the impact of dead whales on the local ecosystem

4. Use all of this information to campaign for unrestricted whaling in the antarctic sea. And they do this in a court of law, not by throwing things like little children.

They are researchers, who use the meat of the common and thriving whales they kill as food so it doesn't go to waste.

First of all, your comparison of whales to cattle is incorrect. Cows are a domesticated species, raised in captivity and bred for the purpose of food. Whales are a wild species and are not necessary to slaughter for dog food.

The whale population can be counted using spotter planes, radio tracking signals and other, less intrusive methods. If I want to count all the Brown Bear in North America I don't go about it by killing them all and counting the corpses.

The hardiness of the species? You're kidding. After millions of years of evolution and the species feeding and breeding in those waters I think it's pretty clear they have evolved to suit the environment.

The impact can't be measured if the dead whale is taken out of the water, that's interrupting the cycle of life and death, as many other species would feed on the corpse. To accurately establish that effect the dead whales must be left to rot.

Their rationale is bogus, and you know it. It's just a whitewash excuse to slaughter whales in an international whale sanctuary. You may think the Sea Sheppards are throwing things "like children," but their tactics seem to be working. The buteric acid makes life miserable aboard the whaling vessels and taints the meat which cuts into the profits.

Sorry, but the explanations of the Japanese don't fly with me. I don't think a single reputable marine biologist would agree that the whalers are in any way contributing to our understanding of the whale population.

EDIT: So far the arguments here are that the Sea Sheppards' methods are A) wrong or B) ineffective. But since I don't see anyone else stepping up to make a stand or even write a letter of complaint, then I don't think we have room to complain about methodology. These are untrained sailors for the most part, people who are out in freezing weather away from friends and families, floating around on a hulk of a ship that is totally unsuited to the climate fighting for something they believe in. How many of us can say we would do the same? They are running on a shoestring budget and walking a fine line between piracy and activism - all to stand up for something they believe in; and I think it's a noble cause.

Because of that - because they are willing to take risks we call insane with no training or preparation; because they are standing up for what they believe and fighting the whalers directly rather than through strong language - for that I respect them.

[BlaRo]

Originally Posted by Blind_Io

Brace yourselves.

I'm actually on the side of the space-hippies on this one.

Yes, they over-think things (code words, etc), but I actually like whales - I have ever since I was a kid. These "researchers" are using a loophole in international law to harvest whales. Yes they are extremists, yes they have woefully inadequate equipment and yes they are nutters for putting their lives on the line; and I kinda like them for it.

There is no reason to hunt whales in our modern age. Japan has so much whale meat they use it in dogfood. We don't need the oil for our lamps and synthetics produce better cosmetics than ambergris. There is absolutely no reason to kill these animals.

In the day of sail, when whale oil lit the lamps in lighthouses and protected the lives of sailors, the whales actually stood a chance. The whalers would have to chase them in wooden framed ships and long boats, harpoon them by hand and if they lived through the Nantucket Sleighride that followed, they would extract the oil by hand. Today they use powerful and fast ships, exploding harpoon heads, aircraft and GPS to track and kill entire pods of whales. The floating factory ship means they don't have to put in to port for months at a time.

Yeah, I guess I'm losing it when I start siding with the space-hippies, but I'm with them on this issue. Those ships belong on the bottom of the ocean.

To be honest, I'm kind of with you on this one...we all bitch about hippies who spend all their time protesting causes and trying to garner support for things they know little about. But instead of standing around shouting at people these guys have actually decided to do something about it, as flawed as their methods may be.

After all, it's one thing to protest something and issue petitions. It's another to actually take matters in your own hands and do it. The fact that these guys were motivated enough to get off their asses, find a boat, and charter it into dangerous territory is noteworthy to say the least. It makes the other asinine, irritating hippies look like the useless fucks they are in comparison.

Also, it mainly appears to be a bunch of Americans vs. the Japanese whalers. An interesting angle would be the fact that racism and xenophobia would play into the motivations of both sides.

[Blind_Io]

I don't think racism has anything to do with it, as the Sea Sheppards have a Japanese crew member aboard for this season.

[thevictor390]

Originally Posted by Blind_Io

I don't think racism has anything to do with it, as the Sea Sheppards have a Japanese crew member aboard for this season.

Gee, it's almost as if he's there for that purpose...

and shoestring budget? They have a national TV show.

/cynicism

EDIT: no freakin' way... just came on at work as I was posting