Guest guest Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 Sophisticated media machine blows whalers out of the water By Geoff Strong The Age January 14, 2006 IT IS a hot battle in one of the world's coldest places, but the real heat is not in the confrontation between Japanese whalers and environmentalists or even the warm cetacean blood spilt for supposed research. The crucial heat is in the three-way struggle to harpoon public opinion. Greenpeace, the world's largest and highest-profile environmental organisation, is pursuing the Japanese in the Southern Ocean with much more than its two ships, a helicopter and crew of 60. In its wake is the smaller but even more controversial Sea Shepherd Conservation Society under command of its mercurial leader, Canadian born Captain Paul Watson. He told The Age he happily accepts the mantle of modern-day pirate and boasts of responsibility for sinking nine " illegal " whaling ships since 1979. In the public opinion war Greenpeace's real rainbow warriors are not the activists in inflatable speedboats who place themselves between harpoons and whales and cop the blasts of the Japanese water cannon — they are largely the actors. The crucial fighters are on the other side of the lens. The organisation has contracted four world-class image specialists: two still photographers and two video camera operators who record the action and pump it out for the world's media. Sea Shepherd has a different method of disseminating the message. On its smaller converted North Atlantic trawler is an embedded contingent of independent media including representatives from Australia's Seven network, National Geographic magazine, plus documentary filmmakers from the US, France, Brazil and Canada. The whalers have a public relations machine too but nowhere as slick and well co-ordinated as the environmentalists', but for the first time they too have been releasing images. For the Greenpeace team, their most important weapon is not necessarily the water spray designed to confuse the harpoonist's aim, but the new 24-hour satellite internet link, that allows them to send fresh broadcast-quality images in time for crucial western news bulletins. So media-savvy is their operation, that even though they are on the edge of the Antarctic, they are able to respond to individual requests for images. For example one of the activists on board is Italian and although Italy is not a country known for environmental empathy, it does like heroes. Maarten Van Rouveroy is the Greenpeace video producer who gathers and edits the images sent directly to their Amsterdam headquarters. " We haven't had as much exposure in Italy as other European countries, but an Italian TV station wanted to show the Italian activist at work, so we videoed him and sent them a clip, which they ran. " We have offices and branches in 38 countries so we get lots of requests like that and we are usually able to oblige. " The Greenpeace footage and photographs are available free to the media. In Australia, New Zealand and most of Europe it is getting wide circulation, but questions are being asked about using such heavily edited material mainly from one side. Of course, mounting such a campaign doesn't come cheap. Greenpeace communications director Mike Townsley said the whale wars were part of a much larger 14-month campaign to raise awareness of problems in the world's oceans. He estimates the three-month Southern Ocean component is costing them $1.6 million. This covers the wages of the ships' crew and other specialists, fuel, supplies and the all-important communications. He said the cost of fuelling the two ships was around $9000 a day. But by using the internet satellite link they have been able to make a considerable saving. When they were just using straight satellite links he said it was costing them $800 for each three minutes of uploaded footage. " Now we are just paying $5000 a month for the link. " Of course the publicity doesn't hurt and is essential for filling the group's coffers, but Mr Townsley says he has no idea how much is being raised. " We don't do what we do for money, but we can't do it without money. " The other crucial information in this protest has been the location of the whaling fleet — something the Japanese prefer to be secret. Neither protest group is saying how it has busted the secret, but computer hacking has been mentioned by their opponents. Sea Shepherd grew out of a split when Mr Watson, one of Greenpeace's founders, parted company in 1977 to pursue a more aggressive line. He told The Age he was not running a protest, rather a policing operation to uphold international law on whaling. The cost was about $750,000. Still, his ship, the Farley Mowat, has been unable to keep up with the whalers and Greenpeace's lead ship, the Esperanza, a former Russian fire fighter. " Next year I am coming back with a much faster ship, " he said. WHAT THE ACTIVISTS ARE SPENDING & #9632;Greenpeace two ships, 60 crew and volunteers. Total cost $1.6 million, including $5000 a month for satellite internet connection and $9000 a day to run ships. & #9632;Sea Shepherd one ship, 30 volunteers. Total cost about $750,000. http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/sophisticated-media-machine-blows-whalers\ -out-of-the-water/2006/01/13/1137118970346.html --------------------------- A clearer image develops of boats on collision course By Andrew Darby The Age January 14, 2006 GLOBAL real-time communications mean both sides of the whaling war can tell their story, complete with videos, on your home computer. Still, it took time to unravel the truth behind last weekend's collision between Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise and the Japanese factory ship Nisshin Maru — ultimately revealing the critical role of a third player, hardline activists Sea Shepherd. JANUARY 8, 1100 AEDT Greenpeace expedition leader Shane Rattenbury, in the middle of an interview to Australia by satellite phone, suddenly becomes a running commentator on the collision. He describes the Nisshin Maru taking a 360-degree turn after breaking away from the resupply ship Oriental Bluebird, heading for the Arctic Sunrise and the ships colliding. He affirms Greenpeace's right of way under maritime law, but does not mention the presence in the water of Sea Shepherd activists, feared by the whalers for ship-damaging tactics. A New Zealand public relations firm acting for Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research distributes the first still images within hours, showing the Arctic Sunrise ramming the Nisshin Maru and unidentified activists throwing wires into the water near the ship's propellers. It is the first time in their 18 years of of " scientific " whaling that the Japanese release their own images. Next Greenpeace posts edited video showing the Nisshin Maru alongside the Oriental Bluebird then moving at speed across the Arctic Sunrise's bow before the collision. Sea Shepherd says nothing. JANUARY 9 Sea Shepherd releases the first details and pictures of its attacks on the Nisshin Maru, claimed to have just occurred. JANUARY 10 Sea Shepherd posts on its website an account of its attack on the Oriental Bluebird the day before, using a metal spike to rip along the side of the larger re-supply ship, and a weblog revealing its activists were attempting to entangle the propellers of the Nisshin Maru before the collision with the Arctic Sunrise JANUARY 11 Whalers release edited videos from the Nisshin Maru showing the last minutes before the collision. The Arctic Sunrise maintains its course at slow speed until seconds before the collision, when it clearly powers full astern. JANUARY 12 ICR website uses Sea Shepherd's own pictures to enforce its case that the Nisshin Maru was under a concerted attack before the collision with the Arctic Sunrise. http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/a-clearer-image-develops-of-boats-on-coll\ ision-course/2006/01/13/1137118970349.html --------------------------- In Japan, running into a whale on the menu doesn't rock the boat By Deborah Cameron, Tokyo The Age January 14, 2006 THE way to eat a whale is not to dive in but to start with little bites. Conscience, squeamishness and low expectations swim into the picture. It takes gumption. Bite-sized pieces arrayed on a white platter and popped onto the table by a smiling waitress with no thought for politics is something of a conversation stopper. What to say about it? It looks nearly black, it has no particular smell, there are interesting white specks in the meat, the chef has seared the edges, it's very soft to the bite. This is how it is when encountering one of the world's legendary creatures — as an appetiser — passes for normal. Though it is not a case of mass market McWhale burgers on every street corner in Japan, there are places where whale meat is a lunchtime dish at school tuckshops. More commonly, it is available at restaurants specialising in regional cuisines. In the interests of research, I last ate whale at a restaurant in Kobe, followed up with chanko nabe, the hearty hotpot served to sumo wrestlers. In Tokyo, a modest amount of whale is in many supermarkets, though it is not overly popular. There is a generational divide about it, not because young people sympathise with animal rights or are on the side of Greenpeace, but because they'd rather eat bouillabaisse. Tastes have changed. Whale is not at all fashionable and as a culinary experience is regarded as dated and quaintly provincial; a bit like tucking into lamb's fry. Mutsuko Ohnishi, the Stephanie Alexander of whale kitchen craft, has written a cook's companion on the topic recommending, among other delights, boiled and sliced innards. At supermarkets in Tokyo, whale is mainly sold raw and packaged to be eaten as sashimi. Costing about ¥800 ($A9.30) for a few slices, it is priced as a luxury. In grocery stores outside the capital, there are bigger pieces for stewing in supermarket freezers and also whale " bacon " . A few months ago at a delicatessen in Nagasaki, a port city, hot snacks of what looked like crunchy fish fingers turned out to be deep fried whale. In the city's souvenir shops, delicately scrimshawed " ocean ivory " was for sale as trinkets and jewellery. The meat comes from a variety of sources: frozen stocks that might include whales caught in Iceland or Norway, animals killed by the small whaling fleet that hunts in Japan's waters, and the controversial Southern Ocean catch. Eating Antarctic whale meat, a by-product of the scientific research that Japan says it does, is the only sensible thing to do with it, the industry says. History, national identity and stubborn pride are also at play in the argument. The Japan Whaling Association, the industry lobby, holds whale eating as a sacred rite and longs for more people to try it. But demand, at its highest in the desperate and hungry days after World War II, has declined. The association says that Japan should be left alone and that all countries do not have the same ideas about animal rights. It is typical of Western critics to lecture, the association says. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/01/13/1137118970442.html __ Listen to over 20 online radio stations and watch the latest music videos on Music. http://au.launch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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