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Outrage: Greenpeace whale meat scandal whistleblowers arrest

greenpeace.org — Japanese police have arrested two Greenpeace activists for exposing a whale meat scandal involving the government-sponsored whaling programme. The two activists, Junichi Sato, 31, and Toru Suzuki, 41, are being investigated for allegedly stealing a box of whale meat which they presented as evidence.

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  • MarceloIniarra, on 06/20/2008, -39/+24Free Greenpeace activist, free Junichi & Toru ! Spread the word everywhere, facebook, my space, Hi5 , in your e-mail list or SMS !!
    Marcelo
    • Rikkochet, on 06/21/2008, -2/+15Or actually demonstrate, phone and write your representatives (assuming you're Japanese), and contact the media.
      Facebook groups as a form of political action are a form of jerking off. They do NOTHING except make you feel better.
  • hiiamuc, on 06/20/2008, -17/+45First Greenpeace exposes the fraud, as next thing Japanese government arrests the persons who have exposed illegal activity. Japanese people are not this stupid. It would be better to start investigating systematic stealing of whale meat that has been allowed to go on by the government.
    • TheFinaleofSeem, on 06/21/2008, -5/+18Maybe that's because they stole private property to do it. When the police do that, they get raked across the coals. Why is it okay for vigilante asshats like Greenpeace?
      • Yez70, on 06/21/2008, -4/+11It's not okay. You're right. It's obviously biased information printed to promote Greenpeace's point of view. I'm surprised Diggers let this propaganda get to the front page like this.

        While the fact that the Japanese government is doing this is appaling, blaming them for arresting thieves only shows they do understand the law. Now, if they end up not doing anything about the illegal whaling, that's actually a story that should get Dugg.

        Anyone who did Digg this story should be embarrassed.
        • Dynehart, on 06/25/2008, -0/+0I have to disagree with you on that. The fact that these people chose illegal means to uncover something that no one else seems to want to do anything about doesn't make them unworthy of news.

          There are a few laws that more-or-less state: "Any illegal activity may be overlooked in the case that they are done in order to prevent a worse crime from occurring." I don't know the exact law and I don't know which countries abide by it but I do know that killing endangered species is far worse than stealing.

          I'm not saying what these people did was right; I'm just saying that you have to look at their situation before calling them completely evil. Don't count on the corporate world to save the planet and as propaganda filled as that article is; it does have some very good points.
    • PhilLesh69, on 06/21/2008, -0/+6Theft is illegal.

      The Japanese negotiated a treaty that allows them to hunt a specific number of whales for "scientific research" and they can then sell the excess whale meat to help fund that research.

      I know that is a loophole, but it falls within all the international treaties and laws.

      I knew that treaty was flawed the moment I heard about it in 2000, but what are you going to do? All of these international treaties sound really good by title, but in practice are just as corrupt and dishonest and tweaked to aid some moneyed interest as all laws and regulations are.
    • diggimator, on 06/21/2008, -0/+3Some amounts of whaling is approved by the IWC. Theft is not.

      While Greenpeace is a moderately peaceful organization, other animal rights activists have known to resort to violence in the past. There's a reason why biologists who conduct animal testing don't display their names on their office doors. For security reasons, the law needs to be enforced on these organizations, no matter what their cause may be.
    • hiiamuc, on 06/26/2008, -0/+0Please note that Greenpeace activists "stole" meat that was already stolen. This meat was not on a way to official whale meat sales. Lot's of meat boxes were stolen by the ship crew and those were on a way to black market. This box contents were marked "cardboard" and it was shipped to a private address. Greenpeace tracked the box, it was intercepted and Greenpeace turned it over to the Public Prosecutor in Tokyo. Greenpeace only exposed that meat, that is property of Japanese tax payers, is stolen from the whaling ship. And this activity is happening with the knowledge of many officials.
  • bartos, on 06/20/2008, -14/+26an absolute scandal! The world upside down, it is ...

    Shame on the Japanese judicial system!
    • TheConman, on 06/21/2008, -1/+6In soviet japan, system shames you!
    • handsanitizer, on 06/21/2008, -4/+9what a scandal... japanese government arrested people for stealing.
    • TheFinaleofSeem, on 06/21/2008, -1/+9Yeah, damn them for prosecuting people that BROKE THE LAW! Greenpeace stole private property. That's larceny and vigilantism. Sorry, but they deserve what they get.
      • shekissesfrogs, on 06/21/2008, -1/+1Japan kills thousands of endangered whales in the name of science, and it's well known that they use it as a cover to kill for food. Even American Eskimos have been cancelling thier whale hunts.
        One thing that is part of Oriental tradition is using all kinds of things for medicine, and it doesn't matter much if they extinguish many species. Seahorses are almost extinct, sea cucumbers are virtually gone around the golapagos Islands. They use tiger bones, bear claws are a delicacy.
        they don't have the same reverence for life as we do in the west.
        To them, thier want or desire trumps even extinction. They'll eat any thing. They'll whack a limb off of a living animal and cook it, leaving the animal alive, and in horrible pain until they sell another paw or what ever.

        Green peace took the meat to prove it. The crime of the japanese government is outrageous, these activists were exposing japan's fraud, not stealing for the sake of stealing. If it were for actual research it would not have been wrapped up in butcher paper.
        Charging them with theft is ridiculous, circumstantial and incidental.
        I hope japan is charged with international crime now.

        t's no different than the tobacco employee who smuggled out paper work rather than shred it, which proved cigarette companies were adding chemicals and growing particular species of plants to cause smokers to become so addicted they would never be able to quit, and hiding cancer research results.
        Green peace is no vigilant thug group. they are not violent and committed to saving species and should be commended and supported. They will even subject themselves to being thrown in jail to expose the truth.
        Even the US government bombed one of their boats killing an activist to scare them away from undercovering crime.
        Bravo Green Peace! You are heros to me!
  • AndrewDavies, on 06/20/2008, -18/+58Straight up intimidation by the pro-whaling government!!!
    • TheFinaleofSeem, on 06/21/2008, -9/+5Whoa, so it's intimidation when people get arrested for breaking the law? Oh, wait, it's only intimidation if you agree with the people who broke the law. Got it.
    • PhilLesh69, on 06/21/2008, -3/+4Yeah, if Greenpeace were to sink a US Navy nuclear powered aircraft carrier, and then those greenpeace fools end up in Guantanamo, that would be just another example of intimidation by the pro-nuclear carrier government, right?

      You've got to try to figure out how to make your argument within the law, because anytime you break the law to make your point, all you are doing is making yourself a criminal and giving power to the people you oppose to label you a nut case or a terrorist.
      • Goblinkiller, on 06/21/2008, -1/+1You can arrest people in different ways which sends different messages to other parts of the society. You may very well convict activists without being intimidating towards others.
      • veganima, on 06/28/2008, -0/+0Greenpeace boats have been sank by the French Government and nobody went to jail, do you get who abuses power? Yes right, it is usually those who have it. The paradox is in a democracy we are supposed to give it to people who represent our interests. The majority of Japanese are against whale hunting. I know the western world is heading straight into the fascism they are pretending to fight but, I am sorry, I am not giving up on democracy yet.
  • lastwizards, on 06/20/2008, -12/+21The response by the Japanese only goes to fuel the story, and many more learn that Japan hunts and eats whales which is not common knowledge and causes people in other countries to stop buying products made in Japan until it stops.
    • Temo1, on 06/21/2008, -8/+16What exactly is wrong with eating whales? These whales are not endangered in the traditional sense and Japanese people have been eating them forever. It's part of their heritage.
      • JigoroKano, on 06/21/2008, -13/+3It's part of my heritage to hunt and eat you. Humans are not endangered.
        • Temo1, on 06/21/2008, -4/+11wtf? Taking that logic, it would be improper to eat ANY animal. In which case you should be mad at more people than just the Japanese.
        • JigoroKano, on 06/21/2008, -3/+5Taking that logic? I didn't give an argument for not eating whale. I merely pointed out that the moral relativism of "tradition" is *****. There are cannibalistic cultures. They would be justified by this kind of ***** multiculturalism.
        • vault, on 06/21/2008, -5/+2Except it's not. In the case of Japan, whale-eating is part of their culture.
        • Temo1, on 06/21/2008, -3/+1Jig: Except that I didn't argue that their heritage made it ok. I simply asked what is so wrong in eating whale meat, and mentioned that Japanese people have been doing it forever and that it was a part of their heritage. You can't deny that it isn't, any japanese person will tell you that whale meat is an important food to them. That doesn't mean, in and of it self, that taking any action is correct or incorrect. That is just a fact.
      • Rickler, on 06/21/2008, -7/+2Eatting whate meat is like chewing on rubber and it doesn't taste good either. Japanese don't kill whales because they are profitable or taste good. They are simply competition for japan's exploitive fishing industry. No matter, in 5 years or so japan won't have tuna on their sushi menus anymore.
        • Temo1, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1What gives you the authority to assert that as fact? Whale meat has been eaten in Japan for centuries. It takes even more symbolic importance today because whale meat was an important part of Japanese diet after WWII, when almost no agricultural infrastructure existed to feed their nation.
      • wexmajor, on 06/21/2008, -1/+5People think that whales are smarter than other animals, which may or may not be true. Smarter animals tend to get more sympathy and are less morally acceptable to eat. Unless they're pigs. People don't give a ***** how smart pigs are, they're just that delicious.
        • shekissesfrogs, on 06/22/2008, -1/+3The fact that you don't know whether or not they have a superior intelligence is evidence that you don't know what you are talking about. When a pod of whales approaches your dinky little boat, they swim right up next to you rolling to the side as they come to a stop, and make extended eye contact with you. So close you could reach out and touch them.
          If they made one good tail flick your whole boat would go over, but they don't.
          Pigs are farmed, they aren't endangered and we know how smart they are. We don't know that much about whales except that they are endangered, form strong social bonds, and live to more than 100 years. They are highly intelligent, curious, use language, and show altruistic behavior. That shows a higher level of development than some humans. We don't know enough about them to measure their intelligence, but it's there, and you would know it if you ever encounder one in the wild.
        • pattyjw59, on 07/12/2008, -0/+0Excellent answer! It is amazing how many people will jump in the debate without doing their research. Sadly, it only serves to make them look ignorant, even though they may not be. You obviously have done your homework on this issue, as I have, and I applaud your comments.
      • hauntedchippy, on 06/21/2008, -1/+2Basically this comes to whether it's ok to eat any animal, or whether some should be off the menu.
        Is there any animal, any at all, that you would deem worthy of protection from hunting by law? If not, then fair enough.
      • shekissesfrogs, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1They are endangered.
      • pattyjw59, on 07/12/2008, -0/+0They ARE endangered, which is why it is illegal to hunt them. And Japan IS the only country still doing whaling on a regular basis. The other countries stopped years ago. Also, (to other responder) the reason that pigs are killed regularly is that they are quite plentiful. If they too were endangered it is doubtful you'd find pork chops at the market.
    • vault, on 06/21/2008, -1/+10Yeah ok, people won't buy Japanese products until the whaling stops.

      So nothing from: Sony, Hitachi, Toshiba, Nintendo, NEC, TDK, JVC, Panasonic, Fujitsu, Canon, Sharp, Fuji, Plextor, Pioneer, Mitsubishi, Olympus, Sanyo, Epson, Nikon, Yamaha, and hundreds more.

      Right.
    • akhomerun, on 06/21/2008, -0/+3good luck buying a laptop with a battery then.
    • PhilLesh69, on 06/21/2008, -1/+3People who actually read newspapers, weekly news magazines and watch the nightly news have known all along that the Japanese had negotiated a permissible level of "scientific research based whale hunting" that everyone knew was just a thin veil hiding a commercial whale hunting industry.

      Lot's of people disagreed with that when it first was talked about somewhere between 1999 and 2001, but the overall debate settled down upon the conclusion that at least the Japanese were regulated in how much they could hunt, and kill. It was decided that at least with this loop-holed international treaty, it kept Japanese whale hunting down to a bare minimum.

      Before the treaty, they were hunting those whales towards extinction. Now it is at least sustainable.
      • shekissesfrogs, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1It's only a barely sustainable population, hovering barely above critically endangered. There is not large enough populations to hunt these animals for food.
        Japan does it fraudulently, not as you suggest. Now with proof maybe they can be stopped until they can make a real attempt at recovery. Norway takes some, but not nearly as many as japan. Other countries are forgoing their whale hunts completely, even American Eskimos who only take one, and the hunt is cultural tradition for them as well as the food. That is not true in Japan. The only cultural traditon that would be sacrificed is no. 42 on the sushi menu.
    • diggimator, on 06/21/2008, -2/+2Why focus your energy on Japan? Other countries hunt and eat whales as well...
  • ZutroyZuuts, on 06/20/2008, -14/+9All the things I respect about Japanese culture is contravened by their cruelty to the cetaceans.
    • Temo1, on 06/21/2008, -3/+3So they eat whales. If westerners hadn't killed all the whales in the 19th century, there'd be no debate here.
    • Bodhinature, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1The things you love like rampant jingoism and institutional misogyny?
  • fadeout, on 06/21/2008, -28/+60If I ever get a chance to visit Iceland I'll eat a dolphin for every digg this article gets.
    • X9001, on 06/21/2008, -3/+4Good luck with that
    • AzureRise, on 06/21/2008, -0/+3We're gonna make you fat, buddy.
      • fadeout, on 06/21/2008, -0/+3Fair trade for a free ticket to Iceland, really. Digg, make it happen?
    • ltethe, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2Question one is why?
      Question two, is... Have you tried it? What if dolphin tastes like... Liver?
    • triskele, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2Don't forget puffin too.
    • fantasmacanino, on 06/21/2008, -2/+1Sure, Internet Tough Guy. I have two questions for you; first question: you're an idiot. Second question: have you ever tasted dolphin meat? I don't think you have or you wouldn't be saying that.
  • cnot3, on 06/21/2008, -15/+31Nuke the whales!
  • davedelong, on 06/21/2008, -20/+79Um.... they STOLE private property. Why should the NOT have been arrested?
    • elister, on 06/21/2008, -5/+3I agree, its like the opening scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

      "Do you you still have the item", Sherif
      "Yes", Young Indy
      "Good, because the original owners wont press charges", Sherif

      While it is against the law to hunt these whales for any reason, its only a matter of time before that ban isnt needed. On the west coast, we occasionally get dead whales washing up on shore, starved to death. Were killing our oceans.
      • sparrowkc, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1WERE killing our oceans. Happily, the problem is now resolved.
        • PhilLesh69, on 06/21/2008, -1/+1You need to explain your comment. Someone who would write "were" instead of "we're" might not realize that you are taking their comment as a conclusion.

          were killing our oceans. Now we're not. So we're doing better now. ;)
        • sparrowkc, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1I did it by emphasizing were and restating the literal meaning in another way, but ya.
      • PhilLesh69, on 06/21/2008, -1/+2elister, it is not "against the law to hunt these whales for any reason."

        The Japanese negotiated the treaties banning commercial fishing of whales to allow scientific research, and they are allowed to hunt a specific number of whales each year for that purpose.

        Everyone is complaining about the Japanese doing what the treaty allows them to do.

        So, therefore, it is not "against the law to hunt these whales for any reason".

        Keep up with us. Don't just randomly come across a news story and become outraged. It is your duty to pay attention to the news every day of your life. If you choose not to, you should bow out of all political discussion, decision and choice. If you only focus on what Britney Spear's little sister wore on the way to the hospital to give birth at 17, like her outfit and shoes is earth shattering news, then stick to that sort of news, don't interject your opinion on world matters anytime "the animals" are being harmed.

        Real world affairs are a bit more complex than the fashion of 17 year old mothers and boy bands.
      • pattyjw59, on 07/12/2008, -0/+0Sorry, not true. Japan is not honoring the treaty; that is how this whole thing got started. They are pretending to kill the whales for scientific research. (How many whales must they kill for this purpose, and when are they going to make public what the research is for?) They violated the treaty the moment that they began smuggling the whale meat.
    • SergeantPepper, on 06/21/2008, -9/+4They exposed corruption and illicit uses of taxpayer money. They were exposing crimes. The United States has Whistleblower Protection laws. They broke less severe crime to expose a much bigger one.
      • BOFH2, on 06/21/2008, -0/+4Country - JAPAN
      • tavisjohn, on 06/21/2008, -2/+6But they are not Whistle Blowers! They are vigilantes! They did not work for the company, and they stole their property! GreenPeace or not, they should be arrested and charged for the theft.
        The government could also go after the wailer. But both wailer and and the thieves should be prosecuted.
      • PhilLesh69, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1Whistleblowers are not protected if they shoplift a pair of shoes from a sports authority in order to claim that child labor produced the shoes.

        Whistleblowers are not protected if they steal tangible property from a shipping company in order to claim that the property was not properly tariffed.

        Theft is illegal.

        Don't you remember the old adage? "Two wrongs do not make a right"

        If I wanted to prove that my grocery store was selling food that didn't meet trade regulations, and I shoplifted those items, I could go to jail. I could either buy the items properly, or try to convince some of that store's employees to come forward to testify. That is the only reasonable, intelligent and intellectually honest way of going about it.
    • TheRealToma, on 06/21/2008, -5/+9In contrast, its kind of like running into a abattoir and stealing a leg of beef then running out saying "We've exposed the horror!"

      Im all for stopping the whaling, but this is the wrong way to do it.
      • Gonthim, on 06/21/2008, -0/+0Not really. They committed a crime to expose a crime. The crime being stealing meat from the ship, not the whaling itself.

        Admittedly they hope to shut down the whaling by exposing the corruption, but the crime they're exposing is the theft of whale meat from the ship.
    • mizike, on 06/21/2008, -2/+15well, let's see.....maybe because the "private property" in question was embezzled from the government by smugglers, and as such, the proceeds of crime. Taking it to the police and telling them where the people who originally stole it, and who are continuing to steal more of it, are located should NOT be grounds for arrest and should NOT open you up to having a small army of police officers raid your home and business.
      • PhilLesh69, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1Maybe because they negotiated the whaling treaty to allow "scientific research hunting" and even had a provision that allowed them to sell the excess meat not needed for research to offset the costs of research, it doesn't matter what they label the boxes, which they only do to keep you fools from learning about it for 8 years, and they are allowed to sell the meat.

        So when you steal private property, or as you claim, government property, you are thieves. You have no legal leg to stand on.

        Steal, and get caught, you go to jail.
    • Garmr, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1Maybe because property is theft?
    • Schmich, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1Um...it's real meat. Why should the government's programme NOT have it and then eat it?

      See what I did there? No? Ok, I'll explain. Your question and my question are so stupid they shouldn't even be asked.
  • DaDrake, on 06/21/2008, -9/+30I have no problem with whaling if endangered wales aren't targeted. If people want to eat whales without threatening the species, I will not judge them or claim to be morally superior.
    • Rikkochet, on 06/21/2008, -2/+13Agreed, except I will still claim to be morally superior because I am a Digger.
    • sparrowkc, on 06/21/2008, -2/+1Why does it really matter if the whale species is endangered or not?
      • Gonthim, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2Because extinction is bad, mmkay? Upsets the ecosystem and balance of predator/prey relationship in the food chain.

        And on a more human-centric note, if we kill off all the whales then we don't have any more to eat. Which would be sad, because I haven't eaten one yet.
        • Muyoso, on 06/21/2008, -1/+1Yea, because things going extinct is just not natural. Oh, wait . . . . .
        • ltethe, on 06/21/2008, -0/+3Well the man has a point. If they go bye bye, then how will you ever get to try it?

          And as for extinction... Yes, it's natural, but a diverse ecosystem IS in humanity's best interests, as a complex food chain is more stable.

          If you boil things down to a minimum number of species, they react to each others stresses in huge and dramatic ways.

          Quick example is fish and mosquitos. If you have a large population of mosquitos, you'll eventually get a huge population of fish, and then your mosquito population will dwindle, causing the fish population to crash hardcore. Then your mosquitos will populate again, and you'll repeat the cycle.

          Whereas, if you add a predator to the fish population, the population boom and bust cycles won't be as dramatic. Or if you add another predator to the mosquito population (like bats) again, your boom and bust cycles for species won't be as dramatic.

          A relatively stable ecosystem is in OUR best interests, as it means a steady supply of fish as opposed to years of crazy yields and years of famine.

          Now does it become apparent why bio-diversity is important?
      • argaen21, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1because whales and dolphins are ***** cool?
    • shekissesfrogs, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1They do hunt endangered whales, and have been killing them for food under the guise of science, but it has to be proven before other countries will move against them to stop it.
      Last year they were caught in Australian waters killing a mother and calf. That is ijust about as illegal and morally reprehensible as you can get. About 3 years ago Hawaiians shot the captain of whale boat in Hawaiian waters after they chased them out numerous times, and then the whaler rammed them.
  • mcduck, on 06/21/2008, -13/+22I had whale steak last week.

    Great stuff. Although, I paid for mine.
    • PhilLesh69, on 06/21/2008, -1/+2Good for you!

      Those greenpeace idiots couldn't afford to pay for theirs, so they stole theirs.
  • Borgcube636, on 06/21/2008, -3/+16http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1334/992019692_0354 ...
  • chapoec, on 06/21/2008, -35/+28That what those eco ***** get. Greenpeace is a tree hugging hippy terrorist organization anyways. They are like PETA. Useless as ***** and nobody gives a ***** what they say.
    • Purin, on 06/21/2008, -9/+7My thoughts exactly.
      Organizations like Greenpeace don't do anything constructive for anyone, they just piss a LOT of people off.
      Greenpeace continued to take money out of my hippy friend's bank account even after cancelling his donations over the phone with them, and because of that he's now $95 in the hole.
    • DeadlyCouncil, on 06/21/2008, -8/+3I agree with everything except the "Eco *****" part. : /
    • bigsteve3OOO, on 06/21/2008, -3/+5You might be too young to remember when they were fun. Those dumb bastards in the late 70s and early 80s used to put their boats in harms way and get run over by all kind of larger craft. It was pee your pants funny how they never got it right and always ended up a punch line instead of getting their way. .....oh good times ......good times
    • Arnos, on 06/21/2008, -2/+3Now why the hate against an organization such as People Eating Tasty Animals?
  • Purin, on 06/21/2008, -35/+56I hate Greenpeace almost as much as I hate PETA.
    • Akairenn, on 06/21/2008, -2/+7We've been told not to fire on anyone but Greenpeace.
    • DeadlyCouncil, on 06/21/2008, -2/+12People Eating Tasty Animals?
      • PhilLesh69, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2I know this doesn't match their acronym, but it is "Hypocritical People against Everyone" -- I saw them protesting outside the Spanish Embassy in Washington DC 2 years ago, one of their "naked protests" (which turns out to be a bunch of half-decent chicks and a few gay boys wearing flesh colored underwear, not a naked protest. So they already lose points for lying and not being intellectually honest. But then when I pointed out to the chick who was walking around handing out flyers protesting the annual bull run and bull fights, that she was wearing leather shoes, made from cows, she tried to tell me that her shoes were made of "pleather". I laughed at her. Then I told her that People are animals, too, and even if her shoes really were not leather, the manufacture of artificial fibers pollutes the earth, use petroleum and other chemicals and will probably kill more people and animals than just using animal skins for our shoes.

        She then said "Oh, they're actually leather".

        So then I said, "Gosh. I guess it just feels good to be a part of a group that is against something, where you can have a common cause!"

        I got no response from that comment, but of course she had to hand out a flyer vilifying the spanish for holding the bull runs to some other bystander.
    • zeero, on 06/21/2008, -8/+3so when multinational organizations abuse, slaughter, torture innocent animals its a-ok, but when a peace/animal rights group uses not perfect tactics to out the bad guys, everyone reams them? wtf?

      grow a spine/heart and stfu. they're bringing attention to all the bs.
      • TheFinaleofSeem, on 06/21/2008, -1/+6Thing is, PETA does very little constructive work. It's mostly idiocy, attention whoring, and jackass tactics. There are far better animal rights organizations out there that have some goddamned sense, something PETA does not.
        • PhilLesh69, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2That is so true.

          I went to a Peta protest with one of UPI's photojournalists, and all i could do was make fun of them.

          I engaged them, asking them questions and pointing out their hypocrisy, and they were very ideological but not very logical.

          When I asked if their shoes were leather, I was told, "no, they're pleather", as if that makes it all okay. So then I said "Did you know that more people and animals die because of pollution?" they were perplexed. Apparently they are just against man killing animals, they don't care if they die from pollution or reduced habitats or anything like that. I said to them, "pleather is a petroleum byproduct. The manufacture of pleather kills more humans and animals than the harvesting of leather from farmed animals".

          They had no counter argument, just plain anger and hatred.

          I loved it.

          I'm against a lot of things, but I make damn sure that if I'm going to stand up against something, that I'm going to know as much about what I'm against and what I am for as I can. These fools just got emotional about an issue, and never looked back. It reminds me of all the art majors and gay boys from Kansas and Iowa when I was in college, they don't care what the cause is, they'll just sign up because anyone against anything must be supporting whatever stupidity they believe in.


          I'm against a lot of stuff, but I'll only get behind an issue if I know what I'm talking about.
        • PhilLesh69, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1I'm sure I'll get some negative diggs from gay folks and people who think I'm calling everyone from Iowa and Kansas gay.

          I meant nothing of the sort.

          I just know that people who are gay growing up in small towns all over America have this mentality of being outsiders, and they will cling to many ideologies, many groups just to feel safe and secure. I met a lot of gay people in college, and even working in downtown DC, and they have this attitude where they will join any group that appears sympathetic to their lifestyle, no matter how tenuous it might be.

          And not all males in those states are gay. I was talking about the ones who are. There are people from all over that are, and the ones from more masculine cultures tend to seek out protest orginizations to find comfort and validation.
      • Purin, on 06/21/2008, -3/+5Who cares about animal torture?
        If you have to torture some cows to make them taste better, then go right ahead.
      • animaniacsrule, on 06/21/2008, -0/+5Isn't "innocent animals" a little bit of a loaded phrase? What are the guilty animals that we abuse, slaughter and torture?
        • PhilLesh69, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1And do not forget that PETA has no problem when the predator in the wild eats the prey.

          Don't you think that PETA is just taking catholic guilt too far?

          Granted, we are smart enough, now, to not necessarily eat ourselves out of a fauna, but we are the top of the food chain, and if we are a smart top of the food chain we can manage our food supply so we don't eat all of our food supply without allowing it to reproduce and continue on.

          What is an innocent animal? Cows can watch the dozen cows ahead of them being killed, and yet they don't protest, they keep walking towards the slaughterer.

          The ocean can produce trillions of fish, and as long as we only catch a certain number, and leave enough to reproduce enough for next year's catch and the number needed to create yet another year's catch, what's wrong there, either?

          Bears eat salmon. Shouldn't PETA protest the bears? I know Stephen Colbert could get behind their silly agenda if they started protesting bears.
  • viggenguy, on 06/21/2008, -19/+50you can't fool me into going to Greenpeace's website!
  • illfatan, on 06/21/2008, -8/+22the evidence produced was stolen. its kinda like using confiscated items w/o a search warrant as evidence.
    • Purin, on 06/21/2008, -5/+9Exactly.
      I really don't see why this even made the front page, except to show that Greenpeace is a shifty organization that will break laws just to promote its "cause," which is stupid anyway.
      In which case, well then I totally agree.
      • pattyjw59, on 07/12/2008, -0/+0You must either be very young or very ignorant, and I do not mean that as an insult. Do you not understand that every time a link in the "food chain" is broken the other links get weaker and weaker as well? Different species' of plants and animals are getting permanently exterminated every day! Eventually the other links begin disintegrating too. That includes human beings. Here is a good example: India.
        When Rudyard Kippling wrote "The Jungle Book," he wrote it about India, a beautiful, lush rainforest teeming with wildlife. But over a period of time, the rainforest was destroyed, along with all of the animals that lived in it. India became a dry, desert wasteland, a dustbowl, incapable of producing even food for the humans that lived there. So back in the late 1960's and early 1970's, people in India were starving to death by the score. No trees + no animals = no humans. I shudder to think what future generations have to look forward to.
    • Hillsfar, on 06/21/2008, -2/+3And you think if they followed the law, worldwide exposure of sunlight on shady dealings of all kinds would suddenly go up? Sometimes it takes muckraking and going undercover to reveal the truth. Imagine Upton Sinclair investigating OUTSIDE a meatpacking plant. We'd never had had The Jungle.
    • homanh, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2Did you even read the story? The whale meat itself was stolen.
    • Math, on 06/21/2008, -0/+3So you would be against whistleblower laws and for charging whistleblowers for removing documents from their employer?
  • noahhoward, on 06/21/2008, -15/+60US Government Obtains evidence illegally = bad
    Greenpeace twits obtain evidence illegally = good

    Double-standard, got it.
  • Obzerva, on 06/21/2008, -7/+7Whale: It's what's for dinner!

    Seriously though, that's horrible!
  • Skab, on 06/21/2008, -16/+24Um whaling isn't illegal anymore I thought. and Greenpeace is a just a corrupt lobby committee. Ask why the founder left the organization. Strange it seems like digg is just becoming a new 527 group haven. And also ***** hippies. Free us for stealing, wait wut?!
    • Gonthim, on 06/21/2008, -0/+3I don't believe it was ever illegal actually, a bunch of countries signed a treaty to stop, but Iceland and Japan, and a few others, never signed the treaty. They could have a fully fledged commercial whaling fleet if they felt like giving the finger to the rest of the world.
  • Hetman, on 06/21/2008, -8/+3MMMMMM Whale!!! "salivating"
  • MarsSentinel, on 06/21/2008, -15/+2uFcking aJps. In WWII they _ATE_ POW's. They still eat whales and monkeys. Who are the animals?
    • handsanitizer, on 06/21/2008, -3/+2wow...
      i can't believe i just read that. and it's the year 2008.
      • MarsSentinel, on 06/21/2008, -1/+2Notice you did NOT say "But it is not TRUE. The Japanese people, peace-loving and wonderful, do NOT eat whales and monkey and they did NOT eat US POW's in WWII". You said "I cant believe you SAID that". There's a difference Mr Correctnessman.
  • BECoole, on 06/21/2008, -9/+4I hope those watermelons* get locked up for a long time.

    *Green on the outside, red all the way through.
  • sfacets, on 06/21/2008, -18/+18Greenpeace being illegal and whining about being caught again. Eco terrorists should be shot on sight.
    • zeero, on 06/21/2008, -3/+6im going to bet you never made a comment like that about the corrupt government or any other corporation. why all the hate on these guys? maybe because loving animals = hippie = pussy, and talking down to them makes you feel superior.
      • jgtg32a, on 06/21/2008, -4/+1maybe but they do have a holier than thou attitude and need to be knocked down a notch or two
      • Gonthim, on 06/21/2008, -0/+0Well, we do catch the government doing illegal things, but then they pass laws like FISA and make themselves immune. It's like the ultimate super villain.

        Hey! Stop! You're doing something illegal!
        'Poof' But this new law says it's not illegal and you can't punish me for it.
        Well *****.
      • timewarp424, on 06/21/2008, -3/+1The truth of the matter is, we have better things to worry about than people killing animals, especially when its humane. Maybe we should take care of every human first, then, maybe the animals.
        • shekissesfrogs, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1We must protect the earth and it's inhabitants as well as humans. Animals enjoy their life as much as humans and it's just as precious. to them. The fallacy of your statement is assuming that the killing is humane. It is not. it is a disgusting spectacle. Shark fin is also the menu, and cutting off the fin and throwing the shark back is another one of thier humane methods, to give you an example.
          Go ahead and search for japanese porpoise killing.
          See if you can eat after you see what they do to them.
          We have to live on this earth together and any species or ethnic groups behavior should not endanger anothers. Just as Japan shouldn't be hunting whales, the US should not be polluting the earth, and attacking countries, and using DU bombs.
    • Goblinkiller, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2Um - Greenpeace doesn't harm anyone physically but you are saying that they should be shot because they're terrorists? Well - to me that seems like Greenpeace isn't the ones that are terrorists in your little relationship...
    • pattyjw59, on 07/12/2008, -0/+0Perhaps you should change your name from sfacets to fascist?? If that is too big a word for you, it is basically someone who promotes hate, bigotry and violence against anyone they don't like or who disagrees with their ignorance..... you know, like Hitler!
  • MikeFallopian, on 06/21/2008, -3/+16"Tracked by our investigators, it was intercepted." If they had credible information, they should have turned the informaiton over to the police and let them deal with it. You can't go stealing packages because you think there might be something illegal inside. That's called larceny and vigilantism, not activism.
    • jgtg32a, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2exactly couldn't they have taken pictures?
    • shekissesfrogs, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1Thats like telling bush about torturing taking place in Abu Garaib. They already knew about it, because they were changing laws to protect themselves from being prosecuted for War crimes while encouranging and enabling envirnonments of Torture. Just as Japanese officials know about it, and that's why they give the UN numbers and species they intend to cull beforehand.

      Evidence would disappear if given to the wolves Thank you Green Peace!
    • juliettelucie, on 06/22/2008, -0/+2Uhm... They HAVE turned over the info to the police. Along with the proof. And they said they were available 24/7 for question. Then they get arrested.
      • MikeFallopian, on 06/22/2008, -0/+0So if your neighbor suspects you are involved in drug dealing, it is perfectly acceptable for them to intercept your packages and mail and search through them - for the greater good. Right?
    • blabbabel, on 06/24/2008, -0/+1They did turn it over to the police!!
  • handsanitizer, on 06/21/2008, -5/+5this whaling dilemma is not about actual whaling anymore, it has turned into a completely racist, ignorant free-for-all...
    whaling is sustainable, and it is far from being a "staple" meat in japan. cruel treatment? america and cows. australia and kangaroos.
    and... we have much more things to deal with than friggin "whaling."
    • ancientdinko, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1racist? ...please
      sustainable?..not if whaling is an ignorant free for all like it once was.
      not a "staple" meat in Japan? ..probably would be without regulations
      cruel treatment of cows and roos? yeah I'll buy that but someday stem cell steak will be on the bbq!

      more things to deal with than whaling? all ***** we deal with is connected dood!
      • sat0shi, on 06/21/2008, -1/+2Trust me, whale meat would not be a staple meat even if it was not regulated.
        Please do not make assumptions about something you do not know anything about.

        Also, you lose all credit by using the word "dood."
  • peestandingup, on 06/21/2008, -6/+5So, I'll be the one who asks whats on everyone's mind.

    Who got to finally eat all that delicious stolen whale meat??
  • jakeburner, on 06/21/2008, -7/+12I'm studying in Japan. Greenpeace or no, whale is pretty tasty. Why is there a rule that humans can only eat stupid creatures? :P
    • ancientdinko, on 06/21/2008, -1/+1wait a minute...whales eat stupid creatures
  • Stevanoski, on 06/21/2008, -9/+3Just evolution in action. If whales can't survive then so be it. The Japanese are minorities and every right should be afforded them.
    • DaDrake, on 06/21/2008, -0/+4ehh I got to disagree with you. I am fairly certain the human race can obliteration all life on earth if we wanted to.
      • Stevanoski, on 06/21/2008, -2/+1As non whites we know the Japanese have been oppressed for the last 10,000 years by whitey. So just as Black men are not held accountable for beating black women (see oppressions remark above) then anyone who is not white should be able to do anything their little hearts desire regardless of the outcome.
  • bxblox, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2Has anyone here tasted whale meat? What does it taste like?
    /actually want to know
    • TheOther1, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2It tastes like chicken.
      • bxblox, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2Does it really or are you saying so because everything tastes like chicken?
    • lostngone, on 06/21/2008, -1/+7Its a mix between Bald eagle and Spotted owl.
    • proliance, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1Chicken of the Sea.
    • ayalan, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2Depends what part you eat. Whale isn't that commonly eaten by us, but some restaurants will carry it like drinking places, izakaya etc. There's katsu, (whale cutlets?) Which is a bit like beef but with more iron. If you've ever eaten caribou, it's a bit like that. The meat is less stringy than beef. Same with whale jerky. It's like beef jerky but a bit bloodier tasting. Imagine the dark part of mackerel meat combined with beef. It's actually quite tasty, especially with a beer. Another popular form is whale curry.

      The raw whale skin is a bit crunchy like jelly fish. It's chewy, kind of fatty and crunchy. It's rather tasteless to me. I don't think it's very popular.

      Regular whale sashimi is like what I first mentioned, but a bit more dark-fish-meat-like, and the texture is comparable to toro sashimi.
  • LanceUppercut, on 06/21/2008, -0/+4Whale Meat, how did they steal my nickname?

    Oh yes.
  • mizike, on 06/21/2008, -8/+5You people are insane; they brought smuggled goods to the police, exposing massive government complicity in the smuggling, were arrested for their efforts, and are now being vilified on digg for it. ***** hypocrites, i'm sure you all voted Bush, he would have arrested them too.
    • Bakalakadaka, on 06/21/2008, -2/+5You're combining the smuggling issue with the theft of private property issue. Greenpeace playing the "yea we stole but we showed everybody the truth" card doesn't work. They still broke the law, the outcome of the whale issue because of what they did is irrelevant.
  • akhomerun, on 06/21/2008, -7/+2these guys stole property, and you expect them to not be arrested?

    i never take anything greenpeace says seriously, they spend all day bitching about apple laptops and eating soyjoy bars.
  • ulmanor, on 06/21/2008, -5/+2Stare at the story's title for long enough, and it just becomes a string of random words.
    Seriously.
    Try it:

    Outrage. Greenpeace. Whale. Meat. Scandal. Whistleblowers. Arrest.
  • jamesLankford, on 06/21/2008, -9/+1buried for OUTRAGE
  • brad3378, on 06/21/2008, -10/+1If I could figure out how to power an SUV with Whale oil I would.

    ***** the Whales.
  • shroomiy, on 06/21/2008, -3/+1What ever moves is edible.
  • CHANNELOCK, on 06/21/2008, -3/+3Whats the hunger for Whales,the Japanese should switch to Spam as it has the same texture and taste
  • sergionegro, on 06/21/2008, -1/+9What I don't get is why people hate whales and the natural environment. There's so much hatred evident in this discussion. From what does it stem? Fear? Denial? In any case - it's very sick.
    • sat0shi, on 06/21/2008, -3/+2Actually, this is the first thread I've seen in a while where people are actually fed up with all this whale loving *****. The fact of the matter is that we do not "hate" whales. We just don't understand why we can't kill a limited number of them for scientific research AND food. With the regulations currently in place, the whales are not in any danger of extinction. Perhaps if this argument was had before the regulations put into place around 2000, I may have a different opinion. But, as it stands right now I hate hippies much more than I hate whales.
      • argaen21, on 06/21/2008, -1/+1***** the japanese *****. have no respect for sea life. hippies may be annoying but at least they are japanese whaling scum.
      • shekissesfrogs, on 06/22/2008, -0/+2They are still endangered, but now they aren't on the virge of extinction.
        They are culled with the ficticious purpose as being used for science.

        The population hasn't recovered enough to use them for food.
        Blaming Americans for previous whaling practices is not an excuse. We know better now. Any outrage exhibited by the theft of a few pounds of meat is as disingenous as taking 5000 whales yearly for research.
        Any thinking person knows these crimes are not equal, and a token theft doesn't not negate crimes on a international level. The real problem is the exposure of the illegal japanese whale meat market.
        Green peace has caused embarrassment to them. Now somebody probably will have to commit suicide.
  • airmann90, on 06/21/2008, -0/+4FTA:
    "Clearly this has been a difficult investigation for the Prosecutor's Office when the level of corruption runs so deep in the whaling industry, an industry backed by powerful forces within the government. However, some questions remain unanswered"

    lol
  • opticwind, on 06/21/2008, -6/+2Wait...people are mad even though they've admitted to stealing the evidence they found? I'm not siding with the Japanese government, renowned for its corruption...but if the individuals broke the lw to expose this thing, they still broke the law.
  • Khemikl, on 06/21/2008, -2/+6The americans aqre still angry that they have to sell their SUV's becuase they have to pay almost half what the rest of the world pays for fuel. Now anything green pisses them off.
  • gondwanan, on 06/21/2008, -2/+7Help free Junichi Sato!! The Greenpeace International website now has a form that you can use to send a message to the Japanese Prime Minister and demand the release of Junichi Sato and Toro Suzuki

    http://digg.com/world_news/Free_Junichi_Sato_and_T ...
    • sat0shi, on 06/21/2008, -1/+1Sorry, I only like to waste my time talking to lawmakers about cases that matter.

      Oh, and good luck convincing the Japanese prime minister to do anything. Japanese people hardly have any voice in the government, you think a bunch of foreigners on Digg will get through? Yeah, right.
  • Kvasaari, on 06/21/2008, -2/+13Dugg for Greenpeace, those guys have balls of iron.
  • lx45803, on 06/21/2008, -2/+5buried for having word salad for a title.
  • Vapours, on 06/21/2008, -4/+21. Greepeace broke into a commercial premiss and stole the meat,
    2 Greepeace claim that they exposed a crime, that the fishermen are stealing whale meat from the company,
    2. Greepeace further claim that the theft/burglary wasn't a crime because they did it to expose a bigger crime.
    3. It turned out that the practice of fishermen taking whale meat home for private consumption has been going on since the company has been established decades ago. The prosecutor's office has already decided that there is no case against fishermen.
    4. Two activist has been arrested. The question is not whether they will be found guilty or not but how severely they will be punished. In Japan, burglary usually means jail time.
  • Omega037, on 06/21/2008, -5/+3I live in Japan and have eaten whale meat. It isn't that amazing, but back in the 70s it was well known as a choice meal for college students because it was cheap and filling. The Japanese really don't have any qualms with eating it, and only agreed to the ban in the first place due to external pressure from the world community. Remember that whaling was a huge, proud industry until fairly recently in the US as well, and the "moral outrage" was really generated in the past couple generations. The fact that they haven't programmed their society with the same morals doesn't make them evil or even wrong.
    • argaen21, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2Ya, it does make them wrong. They are supposed to be part of the anti-whaling community, but in the name of "science" they are killing hundreds of whales for meat that goes straight to market. So yes, they are wrong. Either get out of the pact you made to not whale or stop being liars and live up to your part of the terms.
  • theWaterboy, on 06/21/2008, -1/+6Did any of the mindless droids here ever stop to wonder WHY the Greenpeace folks had to steal the package of whale meat?

    It was because the Japanese government is actively whaling under the PRETENSE it is for scientific research. Clearly, this is false as there is no need for the numbers of whales they kill annually in science. A few possibly, but even then ethical constraints would prevent the meat being sold for human consumption where it was intended for 'scientific research'.

    So, how can people expose what the government is doing? Get evidence... and present it to the world.
  • kankan6469, on 06/22/2008, -3/+1So people don't arrest thieves in Greenpeace's country?
    • veganima, on 06/28/2008, -0/+0Yes they do, specially if it is a Government breaking his own law. The whole scene is called corruption and the whistleblower is the scapegoat.
  • femkeshe, on 06/24/2008, -0/+1An absolute scandal! How dare the Japanese government let this happen!
    They want to be an important economic nation but don't realize that they 'll have to behave like one too, before they get really excepted for that.

    Any nation which respects it's own shouldn't do this !

    And, yes in history all sea country's hunt the whale's. That's why there are so less now.
    If all countries want to stop this, why should japan go on?
  • GidsR, on 06/24/2008, -0/+1When will the Japanese stop whaling - most of the Japanese people are against it; the only people who want it are some die-hard politicos that see it as losing face if they comply to international pressure.
    It's time for more economic pressure to be applied to put the last nail in the crime that is whaling.
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