Noone forces you to hang around this thread if you dont want.

Thread necromancy is bad. Leave it unless you have something interesting to add rather than just bumping a controversial thread for its own sake.

Well, a lot of people hate Sea Shepard for harming human beings. But I've read some interesting things about the intelligence of cetaceans. A few scientists are starting to think that some species may have human-equivalent intellect. Complex social organization, something very like language.

Cetacean intelligence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“The scientific research . . . suggests that dolphins are ‘non-human persons’ who qualify for moral standing as individuals,” [Thomas White, professor of ethics at Loyola Marymount University] said.

Scientists say dolphins should be treated as 'non-human persons' - Times Online

Certainly interesting and I would oppose any injury of an actual sentient being. That said, Wikipedia isn't a source :P (http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/8053/wikipediaz.jpg http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/7...kipediacat.jpg )
It would be ironic for both sides if the research programmes actually proved sentience, both from their side for having killed them and from the terrorists' side for having slowed down the proof of sentience :P

Two types of sentient beings on the same planet? That would have so many implications both here on Earth and out there in the search for E.T. I would have thought the odds to be astronomical.

:shock: Qualifications to write an article and actual knowledge of a subject are two entirely separate things. But that's a different thread, a thread that tastes less necro. :P

So they're lying about those little source notations at the bottom?

I heard about this while ago too. Hopefully she can help them actually do something.

If they actually do anything governments will have to stop overlooking their breaches of the law.

Orly? Hopefully governments will also stop overlooking illegal whaling. ;)

The whaling is not illegal. They have a scientific license in the area. It would be simple enough to trade Japan a slight increase on commercial limits for the revocation of their scientific license, but terror groups like the Sea Shepard's make negotiations difficult.

This is the first "Sea Shepherds only make things worse" argument that makes sense to me. Thanks for this information, it may change my views on this.

Well, Michelle wasn't mentioned in this report, but Sea Shepherd has scored a win:

Sea Shepherd Activists Prompt Japan To Suspend Whaling

It still bristles me that Japan claims their whaling being "for research reasons" - yeah, right. Just like the "traditional" annual whale and dolphin killings at Taiji...

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

Research. Lol. What kind of research killing 945 whales is all about?

Terrorists -2 The rest of us - 1