Monday 28 May 2012

Whale Wars - Comments

Just been reading some of the comments about Captain Paul Watson posted after his arrest.

Some have claimed that he has threatened peoples lives in his bind to stop illegal poachers and whalers from damaging our most precious resource, that he said once that he was quite happy with the idea of killing people in the course of what he does, that he and Green Peace parted ways for a good reason, that if he was so confident about winning the Costa Rica case then why has he avoided capture for so long?

This is not the first time that he and his crew have been arrested.  He has always avoided, quote, 'justice', unquote, before because none of his ships have ever carried lethal fire arms, no person has ever died in the course of any of his campaigns and the only property he has damaged has been the property of those involved with illegal actives.

Yes, he styles himself an eco-pirate.  Apparently one person thought because of this he should be crucified. Like that proves you to be a well balanced, rational person.  Or perhaps you would prefer to see him hanged, as under the British Law.  Or locked up and never heard of again, while his followers and supporters are "put in a SAFE PLACE".

I am sorry but from where I am sitting if you are illegally poaching then you get what is coming to you.  If you weren't breaking the law you would not be putting yourself on to his radar.  He is an eco-pirate because he is going after the people who the governments of the world aren't willing to touch for one reason and enough.  If the governments of the world were more willing to tackle this problem instead of trying a blind eye to it because its 'not profitable' to notice it, people like Paul Watson would not be needed.

It seems to me that he and Green Peace parted ways because Green Peace isn't willing to sully their good name with the controversies Paul Watson is willing to face.  When was the last time a Green Peace member was arrested for their actions?

And for the record, shark finning is barbaric, wasteful and inefficient.

Wednesday 16 May 2012

Whale Wars

I have just found out that Captain Paul Watson has been arrested, on what charges has yet to be made clear, but it seems that the German government plans to extradite him to Costa Rica.

This seems to be in response to the Sea Shepherd uncovering an illegal shark finning operation.  The word here is 'illegal'.  How can an 'illegal', that is to say 'against the law', operation use international law to shut down the people who uncovered the acts that where against the law?  Surely anybody can see that to jail a man who is fighting against the illegal fishing practises of companies and cabals around the world is to support the illegal practises.  And if the governments and legal systems of the world are supporting illegal practises then they are supporting that which is totally opposite to everything that they are supposed - and are voted in for - to embody.  If this is the case then the law is a mockery and government a sham.

Monday 7 May 2012

A Different Stage

Went to see 'Holmes and the Ripper' last Friday at the Assembly House, Norwich.  An extremely good play that puts forward some all too possible theories as to the Ripper's identity.  Although the subject matter is serious there is enough humour to stop it becoming too depressing, including the police man who arrests Watson by mistake.

However, the most surprising facet of the play was the placement of the stage.  It was in the middle of the room with the audience all the way around it. This meant that no matter which way the actors where facing they always had their back towards at least part of the audience.  Despite this, in many ways, the play was more intimate than many plays I have seen before, probably because there was no curtains to close between scenes.  The use of lighting was extremely well down, however, to give the back stage crew a chance to more set pieces.

I had the chance to speak to a member of cast afterwards, who told me that it was the most liberating stage they had ever worked on, due to the fact that they couldn't help but have their back to the audience.  This meant that they did not have to worry about turning towards the audience to say their lines and make the action seem natural, leading to movement more akin to that seen in real life.  Probably another reason why the action seemed so much more intense than on a more traditional stage.