As we feared the high seas drama that is Japans 2008 Southern Seas Whaling Expedition has taken a turn for the bizarre today.Crews from the Steve Irwin-the all black Vader-esque anti-whaling chase boat owned by Paul Watson from Sea Shepherd has made contact with Japans whaling fleet and the Yushin Maru.
What has transpired is something right out of Moby Dick. Turns out members of the Steve Irwins crew have been lashed to the main mast of the Yushin Maru in "freezing conditions" and not even allowed the basic rights to a hot chocolate with marshmallows on top- a time honored right granted to them under the Third Geneva Convention of 1949.
Naturally, this event has caused a minor international incident and the news media is running like a panicked herd of Wildebeast with this "high seas drama" story.
In our book anything that causes even the casual media reader to stop and say "wait a minute" is good media. As far as the anti-whalers are concerned their position can be summed up with the following quote from good old Captain Ahab and Khan from Star Trek:
"No. No, you can't get away. 'From Hell's heart... I stab at thee. For hate's sake I spit my last breath... at thee'."
The fine whaling folks in Japan should reconsider whaling as a vocation and also reconsider the taking of hostages-that's so 1980's.
