What say you now Greenpeace?

[Trevor]

What say you Greenpeace? Quit or stay the course.



A Commentary from Captain Paul Watson



The Greenpeace Foundation has announced that they will not be returning to Antarctica at the end of the year to oppose illegal Japanese whaling activities.

It is my intention to harass them, goad them, and embarrass them until they agree to reconsider and announce that they will be returning.

Why?

Because the whales need all the help they can get and the Greenpeace ships with their banner waving and ocean posing photo-op tactics get media attention and the whales need all the attention they can get.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is a much smaller organization and we simply can?t afford the million dollar public relations budget that Greenpeace spends to publicize their campaigns.

We will do our thing which will be to intimidate the whale pirates into leaving the Whale Sanctuary and given a fast enough boat we will certainly do that.

Secondly, Greenpeace has raised a great deal of money on the issue of illegal whaling in the Southern Oceans. They continue to raise money with paid ads, door to door solicitation, street canvassing and other fund-raising avenues. If people are going to give Greenpeace money to oppose whaling then they have a moral obligation to spend that money for the purpose that it is given.

With the announcement by Shayne Rattenbury of Greenpeace that they will not be sending their ships back to the Southern Ocean, Greenpeace has effectively betrayed the whales and they have also betrayed all those people who have contributed to the cause of protecting the whales.

So in addition to working to secure a faster ship to return to Antarctica, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society intends to provoke Greenpeace into reconsidering their decision to not return to Antarctica.

I am confident that the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society can stop illegal Japanese whaling without Greenpeace?s help. In fact it might be easier without Rattenbury and Shallhorn and company constantly attacking our tactics through the media.

However I believe that strength lies in diversity and the more diverse the opposition, the stronger the pressure.

Despite a constant barrage of criticism from Greenpeace when our ship was off the coast of Antarctica, Sea Shepherd did not retaliate. We held our tongues because Greenpeace was working for the same goal as Sea Shepherd ? to shut down the whalers.

Or were they?

Because to continue to collect donations to protect the whales after announcing that they will not be returning suggests that they may well be exploiting the issue for no other reason than to raise funds.

The Japanese had banners of their own and one of them said that Greenpeace is a sham and another said that Greenpeace is misleading the public.

If Greenpeace does not return to the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary in December they will have demonstrated that the Japanese accusations are justified.

With the announcement that they have abandoned the whales, I will no longer be silent about what Greenpeace is doing, or more accurately, not doing.

Once they change their mind I will refrain from any further criticism.

Greenpeace has raised far more money from their campaigns to ?protect? the whales than they have spent. If they do not return they will be simply pocketing a profit from their publicity campaign.

There is a third reason that I want Greenpeace to return to Antarctica. As one of the co-founders of what is now a big mean green corporate machine, I would like to see Greenpeace continue with the campaigns that brought them fame and fortune ? the campaigns to save the whales.

I was there in 1975 when Greenpeace had little money and lots of guts and we literally invented the save the whales movement. I risked my life in small Greenpeace boats to protect whales and it was during the campaigns of 1975 and 1976 that I became determined to do everything I could to save as many whales as I could for the rest of my life.

I left Greenpeace in 1977 simply because I needed to establish an organization that would intervene against illegal whaling and illegal exploitation of marine resources. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is not a protest organization. We are strictly a marine wildlife and habitat conservation organization that opposes illegal activities.

We have our niche and Greenpeace has theirs although it appears that Greenpeace is attempting to abandon that niche.

So for this reason I have one message to send to Greenpeace. Return to the Southern Oceans in December to oppose the illegal whaling activities of the Japanese whaling fleet. Fail to return and I will see to it that the public is reminded that you took their money and did not finish the job, that you quit, retreated and surrendered.

No one ever said it would be easy to shut down whaling but quitting is cowardly and sends a strong message to Japan that they beat you, that they scared you because they fired a few harpoons over your head, that one of your crew got tossed into the sea in his survival suit, that one of your boats got bumped and that some of your crew got seasick.

So I expect Shayne Rattenbury or Steve Shallhorn or some other talking head from Greenpeace to recant their decision to abandon the whales and to make an announcement that they will indeed be returning.

What say you Greenpeace? Quit or Stay the course.

[Faraday1990]

Originally Posted by Trevor

If people are going to give Greenpeace money to oppose whaling then they have a moral obligation to spend that money for the purpose that it is given.

I wholeheartedly agree with you on this one Trevor. I served onboard 3 Greenpeace ships in the mid 90's and this decision by Greenpeace saddens me. I thought they had more guts than this. I do hope they reverse this stupid decision, and get back down there pronto to do what the supporting public are giving out their monies for!.

[Trevor]

There will be no Green Peace in this world while organizations like GP keep the money to them selves and fatten there bellies. I was on board Esparanza in Cape town for a tour and they had an Atlantic Salmon about 4' long on the galley table for gutting. Unbelivable eh! well it's true. And GP has turned in to the most hipacritical of them all. Hipocracy is the vasaline to society! thou maybe it would be a good idea to to limit our hipocricy just a little.

[Paul Ward]

Originally Posted by Trevor

I was on board Esparanza in Cape town for a tour and they had an Atlantic Salmon about 4' long on the galley table for gutting. Unbelivable eh!

I think you're being a little harsh there. Salmon isn't so expensive and presumeably it was for a lot of people.

Sack-cloth and ashes may look good in the short term, but don't really having sticking power in the long term. You said you were on for a tour? Was it a fund-raising or awareness raisng tour?

Most charities will regulalry spend money to raise sponsorship and funds - I don't think that's wrong. For some at some times it's even spend a ?1 of every ?2 raised to raise the next ?2. No spend - no apparent waste - less funds overall.

It may go against the ideology, but it's political and politics is the art of the possible - if ideology can fit in too, that's a bonus.

[Pirates Armada]

what do you think green peace's next action should or will be if it is not saving whales? i might suggest that maybe they could stand as mediators between iran and the usa so as we not try and blow the entire world up. today recent events suggest another war at hand. our spokes person dick cheney said the usa is ready to take appropriate actions. (he should go into greater detail here, so as to uncover to the american people what they actually do plan on doing. we pay taxes.) then on the other hand iran said about dick's speech "let's get the ball rolling". call me dumb but don't ever call me stupid...ain't this meen another knock down dirty drag out behind the middle school gymnasium at lunch?

[Paul Ward]

I'm reminded of a certain film here.

I thought Sea Shepherd and Green Peace were on the same side while - er.... well there isn't actually anyone else in the world doing anything in Antarctica about these matters.

BRIAN: Can I... join your group?


REG: No. P*** off.

BRIAN: I didn't want to sell this stuff. It's only a job. I hate the Romans as much as anybody.

PEOPLE'S FRONT OF JUDEA: Shhhh. Shhhh. Shhh. Shh. Shhhh.

REG: Schtum.

JUDITH: Are you sure?

BRIAN: Oh, dead sure. I hate the Romans already.

REG: Listen. If you really wanted to join the P.F.J., you'd have to really hate the Romans.

BRIAN: I do!

REG: Oh, yeah? How much?

BRIAN: A lot!

REG: Right. You're in. Listen. The only people we hate more than the Romans are the f**king Judean People's Front.

P.F.J.: Yeah...

JUDITH: Splitters.

P.F.J.: Splitters...

FRANCIS: And the Judean Popular People's Front.

P.F.J.: Yeah. Oh, yeah. Splitters. Splitters...

LORETTA: And the People's Front of Judea.

P.F.J.: Yeah. Splitters. Splitters...

REG: What?

LORETTA: The People's Front of Judea. Splitters.

REG: We're the People's Front of Judea!

LORETTA: Oh. I thought we were the Popular Front.

REG: People's Front! C-huh.

FRANCIS: Whatever happened to the Popular Front, Reg?

REG: He's over there.

P.F.J.: Splitter!

[Pirates Armada]

the life of brian? i don't remember much of the movie. your perspective relates in numerous other aspects of life not just two humanity org's. not seeing eye to eye. obvoiusly monty python has had an impact across the globe but i guess you could say the same of the cartoon southpark. we are the nights that say ni!!

[Paul Ward]

Not so much not seeing eye to eye it seems, as putting as much effort into mutual criticsm as into fighting the cause that fundamentally they agree about. I think the Life of Brian puts it into perspective.

[Pirates Armada]

yeah but i still think green peace hindered the operation down there. what the hell is holding up signs going to do? "you japanese go home right now, we are really mad, the aussies and zealanders are gonna back us up just as soon as they get off the couch from counting yen"

how aboot that false location given from green peace as well. what the heck is that all aboot? "uhh yeah sea sheppard....their headed towards argentina, go get em!!!"

maybe gp is better on the education front rather then when the rubber hits the pavement.

life of brian and the search for the holy grail!!

[Trevor]

Message to Greenpeace from Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society


To Greenpeace,

The Australian 60 Minutes piece that aired on March 12th was a positive program for the whales. The Japanese clearly lost the debate.

Although I have not yet seen the program, the reports from our supporters in Australia have been positive.

Unfortunately there were negative comments from Shayne Rattenbury about Sea Shepherd and negative comments from me about Greenpeace.

I really had no choice because they had already interviewed Rattenbury and confronted me with his criticisms of Sea Shepherd which I had to address. Not only did this take time away from the real issue of illegal Japanese whaling, it contributed nothing to the cause. I did not initiate this distraction.

I fail to see what can be achieved by Greenpeace from this continuous animosity that Greenpeace has for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. In June last year I communicated my intention to work in cooperation with Greenpeace. I did not get an answer so I communicated again in October, this time getting an answer from John Bowler that turned down my offer in a very insulting manner. I tried again by communicating with Shayne Rattenbury only to be insulted again.

Your assistance in Antarctica because of your faster ship could have helped us to intervene more often and thus we could have shut down the whalers more often because you know very well that when we appeared the whalers began running. Your decision resulted in whales dying that could have been saved. Yet your crew treated us like the enemy by refusing to cooperate. I do not blame the crew, they were following orders.

Just what is it that you have a problem with concerning Sea Shepherd? It is certainly not our tactics. We have never injured anyone and our damage to illegal property has been less severe than the damage that Earth First does to legally utilized property, yet you have worked with Earth First. In fact you hired one of the founders of Earth First Mike Roselle - great guy by the way.

Greenpeace breaks laws through the practise of civil disobedience. Sea SHepherd does not break laws, we uphold them. We intervene against illegal activities. We do not protest. So what have you got against enforcement of international conservation law?

It is not because I was dismissed from Greenpeace for advocating violence. I was not. I was dismissed by Patrick Moore for political reasons and Patrick, the great Eco-Judas now works for the killers and polluters. Evidence of the fact that I was not dismissed for my tactics is on our website including the document that has my signature that established Greenpeace International in 1979 and the copy of the Greenpeace Chronicles of September 1979 that has my article with pictures (Front Page) of my ramming of the Sierra - a tactic that Greenpeace supported completely in 1979.

If any of you are aware of the history of Greenpeace you may have come across a reference to the Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov. I suggest you read it. That is why the name Foundation was given to Greenpeace by Bob Hunter and not Society. Greenpeace is the Foundation and Sea Shepherd is the 2nd Foundation. In the book, the Foundation hates and tries to destroy the 2nd Foundation. The 2nd Foundation tries to guide the Foundation and keep it tied to it's original objectives. One of those objectives is to keep the Foundation on course.

Sea Shepherd is returning to the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary in December. We understand that Greenpeace will not be returning according to Shayne Rattenbury. We would like to invite Greenpeace to return and once again we would like to work with Greenpeace in cooperation to shut down the illegal activities of the Japanese whaling fleet.

Greenpeace is raising plenty of money for the cause of protecting the whales. I think that this money should be ear marked for a return to the Southern Oceans to defend the whales. Working together, the Greenpeace Foundation and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society can be much more effective. We do have a common enemy after all.

So I will officially ask you once again that we work in cooperation, that we put an end to this public feuding and that we acknowledge that we are both a part of a diverse movement that should be able to agree to disagree on tactics in order to strive for a common objective.

I suspect that I will be ignored again. But the record will show that for 20 years I and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society have striven to work with and to cooperate with Greenpeace. During that time, every request has been ignored or dismissed with contempt.

The question is how can you ever hope to promote peace in the world if you cannot negotiate peace within your own organization and movement?

Like it or not, I am one of your co-founders. I was there as an unpaid volunteer on the decks of Greenpeace ships from 1971 until 1977, long before any of you who dismiss me, had even heard of Greenpeace, before many of you were even born.

This year as I stood on the top of an iceberg and watched as Emily Hunter scattered some of her father's ashes in the Antarctic Whales Sanctuary I could not help but feel sad for the fact that Robert Hunter who had the grace and the integrity to work with both Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd would have wanted us to have worked together to oppose the whalers. I could only apologize to Bob for trying unsuccessfully to realize that desire of his, for us to come together again. Our failure to do so means that we both failed him.

This may not matter to people unaware of the fact that it was Bob Hunter who made it possible for Greenpeace to exist today. You all owe your positions and employment to him. But Greenpeace seems to want to dismiss the past, to erase it and change it if need be. And that is a tragedy.

In the end, you will find that you cannot completely change history and truth usually prevails although distorted at times. At least we have Rex Weyler's book that captured a good part of it and solidified that reality before further damage could be done.

So the offer is put before you again. Are we allies or are we not? Should we work together or should we not? Should we stop publicly feuding or do you wish to continue? The choice is yours.