Sea Shepherd, twelve days ago

One of the Japanese whaling ships rammed and eventually sank a Sea Shepherd boat:

SYDNEY - The high-tech anti-whaling boat damaged in a collision with a Japanese whaler sank off Antarctica on Friday, but posed no threat to the pristine environment, a conservation group said.

The bow of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's Ady Gil was sheared off Wednesday in a collision with a far larger Japanese whaling ship, in the most serious clash in what has become an annual confrontation off the frozen continent.

The whaler, Shonan Maru No. 2, suffered no apparent damage. Both sides blame the other for the collision, which occurred as the Ady Gil harassed the Japanese fleet.

No, it's not the same thing, as the Japanese ships are engaged in poaching. They are not only hunting in violation of international law, but they also do much of their hunting in a whale sanctuary:

Japan kills about 1,200 whales a year in Antarctica under what it says is a scientific program allowed by the International Whaling Commission despite a moratorium on commercial whaling. Critics say the program is a front for illegal whaling, and Sea Shepherd sends ships to Antarctica each season to try to stop the hunt — an effort portrayed on the Animal Planet TV series "Whale Wars."

The whaling is conducted in international waters, but usually within the huge patch of ocean that is designated Australia's maritime rescue zone and that Canberra considers a whale sanctuary.

Also, Sea Shepherd doesn't ram speedboats.

Anyway, here's Rachel Maddow talking about the ramming, and then brings in Bob Barker who seems pretty awesome, especially for an eighty-six year old man:

Damn, Bob! Five million? That's something else. Good for him, good for Sea Shepherd. I hope they sink the Japanese whaling fleet physically and financially. Fuck them.