Thursday

Cell phones...

I don't own a cell phone or a pager. I just hang around everyone I know, all the time. If someone wants to get a hold of me, they just say 'Mitch,' and I say 'what?' and turn my head slightly.

- Mitch Hedberg

With the herd

"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one."

- Charles Mackay

Wednesday

Filling out the form...

Filling out the form:

Race? Human.

Religion? Paiute.

Occupation? Criminal anarchy.

Hobbies? Survival with honor.

- Edward Abbey

Monday

Why we support Sea Shepherd

Sea Sheperd is The Ocean's Navy!

In 1986, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) enacted a moratorium on all commercial whaling. Since then, three nations – Iceland, Norway, and Japan – have brutally slaughtered over 25,000 whales under the guise of scientific research and for commercial purposes. The IWC does not have the capacity to enforce the moratorium. Sea Shepherd, guided by the United Nations World Charter for Nature, is the only organization whose mission is to enforce these international conservation regulations on the high seas.

Highlights from Sea Shephered's past three decades include:
Ramming and disabling the notorious pirate whaler, the Sierra
Shutting down half of the Spanish whaling fleet
Documentation of whaling activities in the Faeroe Islands chronicled in the BBC documentary Black Harvest
Scuttling half of the Icelandic whaling fleet and whale processing station
Scuttling of the Norwegian whaling vessels Nybraena and Senet
Confronting and opposing Japan's illegal whaling in Antarctica

Sea Shepherd has gone on to end the careers of 9 illegal whaling vessels, saving thousands of whales. These campaigns and other Sea Shepherd efforts have kept the issue of whaling in the international spotlight for the past thirty years.
Sea Shepherd's mission is to end the destruction of habitat and the slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species. Sea Shepherd uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. By safeguarding the biodiversity of our delicately-balanced ocean ecosystems, Sea Shepherd works to ensure their survival for future generations.


42 Surfboards is proud to support Sea Shepherd!


Lars and the 42 Crew

Friday

Life...

"Life is too tragic for sadness: Let us rejoice."
-Edward Abbey

Sea Shepherd Announces Operation Musashi





While in Santiago, Chile for the 60th Meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), Sea Shepherd Conservation Society officially announced plans to return to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary to once again oppose illegal Japanese whaling activities. Sea Shepherd is represented at the IWC by Captain Paul Watson, Founder and President of Sea Shepherd, and the Honourable Ian Campbell, former Minister of the Environment for Australia and current member of Sea Shepherd's international Advisory Board.




This year's campaign, Sea Shepherd's fifth campaign to Antarctic waters, will be called Operation Musashi in reference to the legendary Japanese strategist, Miyamoto Musashi. Musashi's Book of Five Rings included the approach of the Twofold Way of Pen and Sword. Sea Shepherd's goal is to send two fast ships to the Southern Ocean with the purpose of continuously keeping the Japanese whaling fleet on the run.



"We intend to sink the Japanese fleet economically," said Captain Watson. "Our strategy is to prevent whales from being killed, to force Japan to spend money on fuel without killing whales. My crew and I will not watch whales die, we will not bear witness to the cruel slaughter of a single whale without risking our lives to prevent its unlawful and cruel murder. If the members of the IWC refuse to act to save the whales, then it is up to us to take this fight onto the high seas where we will prevail in the next season even more successfully than we prevailed in the last season."



The name Operation Musashi was chosen to reflect Sea Shepherd's approach of aggressive, yet nonviolent, confrontation and the increasing global awareness of Japan's ongoing illegal whaling activities; thus the crossed feather pen and katana (sword) under the skull with the imbedded sperm whale and dolphin yin-yang symbol. The Banzai flag background gives reference to the ecological imperialism that Japan is committing against the whales of the Southern Ocean.



Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645) was the greatest samurai warrior, strategist, and tactician of all time and is a personal role model and hero of Captain Watson, who incorporated Musashi's ideas into his book Earthforce! An Earth Warriors Guide to Strategy. Sea Shepherd intends to transform Setsuninto - the sword {harpoon} that takes life - to Katsujinken - the sword {harpoon} that gives life. Sea Shepherd's ship, the Steve Irwin, will be outfitted with a very special harpoon for this year's campaign.



Sea Shepherd is not a protest organization. It was established in 1977 to intervene against the illegal exploitation of marine life in accordance with the principles of the United Nations World Charter for Nature. However, as with all Sea Shepherd campaigns, all strategies and tactics are designed to avoid any physical injury to the whalers.



"We have never injured a single person in our 31 year history," said Captain Watson, "and we intend to keep that record unblemished."



Ok, smart guy...

"One of the indictments of civilizations is that happiness and intelligence are so rarely found in the same person."

-William Feather

Dress appropriately

There is no cold water. Only the wrong wetsuit.

Lars and the 42 Crew