Passionate Dolphin Activist Susan Mabe...Rests In Peace...October 29, 2012

Join young Susan Mabe for tea

by Steven Thompson, TDAG 
Oct. 30, 2012

A friend of dolphins and a friend of mine passed away today. As an Administrator here on the Taiji Dolphin Action Group, she was instrumental in keeping us a strong independent voice for Taiji dolphins. Her words and thoughts live on in her facebook page.

Passionate and loving woman

I have known Susan Mabe as tough and beautiful, angry and kind, logical and emotional and so connected to Cetaceans and the people involved. Her native American roots she discovered later in life and upscale medical family gave her a spiritual way of living and an analytical mind.

Intense front-line activist

Susan was quick with intelligence and honesty. She has helped me to be a better activist. May we all remember her. I feel she would want us to work hard, keep our facts straight and share our passions.

Thank you Susan for sharing your passions. You have made and will continue to make a difference in my life and the lives of many.

A new way to spread awareness about Taiji?

Hi all :-) I've been doing some thinking about more ways to spread awareness in our own Towns, States and possibly to Japan. My thought was what if we contact all of the Japanese restaurants either by asking to hang flyers, email them or post on Facebook pages (politely of course) I have recently posted on a few Fb pages of Japanese restaurants and two of them liked the post and kept it up on their page, I also tweeted a local restaurant owner and he Re-tweeted! Not a miracle but still it does help with spreading awareness. Basically I just mentioned The Dolphin slaughters in Taiji, Japan, if they have any relatives in Japan to please warn them of Mercury poisoning in the meat (just in case) and how they kill thousands yearly for no reason, their only crime? eating the fish, just swimming through Taiji ? I also added a video of one of the slaughters to show the extent the Fishermen go to in order to catch and kill these beautiful, sentient beings (that should tug at their heartstrings?) but you can add an article, a picture or whatever you feel will catch their eye. Best bet is finding Restaurants on Facebook and asking them to help us spread awareness of this appalling act, not only are we informing the restaurants but their patrons who like their page as well. By the way, I also mentioned the captivity bit in my posts and asked them to watch "The Cove" This may or may not work but aren't our Dolphin friends worth the effort?

Donate Now! Help Dolphin Mel and the Taiji 12 Get Up Again

Give a Helping Hand!

by Steven Thompson, TDAG 
Oct. 12, 2012

What do Dolphin Activists do once they get knocked down?

GET BACK UP AGAIN!

Urgent! This is a setback. This is the result of the investigation into the accidental statue bending. The seizing of all of this property is police harassment.  Money will fix it.

Donate now!

All 13 Sea Shepherds are having their camera SD cards, computers, and mobile phones confiscated RIGHT now. This is confirmed. I just spoke with Sea Shepherds in the Taiji area. The Taiji police told Mel to expect to be without equipment for up to two weeks, IF it gets returned at all.

Earmark funds for Taiji: The Dolphin Defense Campaign on the Sea Shepherd site. They must be re-supplied. I reckon they need about $4,000usd to keep us and the world aware.

Please post this over and over. Keep it at the top till Taiji Sea Shepherds get on their feet again.

This is the least we can do...as we sit back and watch it unfold...at least we can donate a little to keep them there.


For the Taiji Dolphins!

Note: I am not a member of Sea Shepherd, but I think they are doing a heck of a good job spreading outside pressure (gaiatsu) awareness to end the dolphin hunt. Please support the individuals using their own funds to get involved. Please support Japanese activist when you find them. They are ones who will end this. They are the ones who will create an alternative.

Mel and the Twelve: The Dolphin Activist Experience of a Lifetime

Will the Cove Guardians be released soon?

by Steven Thompson, TDAG 
Oct. 11, 2012

Taiji Cove Guardian leader Melissa Sehgal and twelve other Sea Shepherds from Australia, Brazil, Germany, the UK, and the USA, are now being held for questioning in the Shingu police station and jail near Taiji, Japan. They have been detained since 10:00am today. It is now 16:10pm.

The Guardians reported that the hunt was unsuccessful today! Our friends must get out of detention in order to report on the hunt tomorrow. The world is watching.

It is assumed that this is in relation to the accidental damage to a statue of a man before he throws a harpoon at a defenseless dolphin or whale and the arrest of Nils Greskewitz for that mistake.

Please know this: the Sea Shepherd campaign in Taiji Japan works efficiently, organized with backup plans for predictable and even outrageous outcomes.

For all the times I have seen, contingencies are considered and worked out in advance. When the Cove Guardians were detained today, a one button call was certainly made that put a designated crew in several countries into action.

At this point, there is no hurry for information on our part. Either Mel and the Twelve are going to be held for anywhere from a day to 23 days or they will be let out soon. Japanese law allows the police to collude with a prosecutor and hold anyone, Japanese or other for almost two weeks incommunicado without access to friends or family or a lawyer. If this happens the Embassies can step in but rarely do.

Nils is another story of course. He will truly be lucky to not get deported after 23 days in solitary without ever seeing the sun.

If our other friends are let out soon, they will have had  brief but interesting stories of Japanese bureaucracy. If they are detained for longer, Taiji dolphin activism will move forward with a big powerful splash of her tail.

I was detained by the Shingu police when I was assaulted by the hunters. I went to report the assault, and the police bullied their way into my life, called my workplace and bullied my family. The pressure sent me back to Osaka that same day. We can expect this sort of pressure to be put on the 13 Cove Guardians and Nils too.

The Taiji police are doing what they do best: being pricks. They are defending the hunters and supporting the killing of innocent dolphins.

These 13 selfless Cove Guardian volunteers each have their own networks of hundreds or thousands of friends, families, and contacts. In a very short period of time, perhaps 10,000 will know if this "questioning" gets turned into jail time without charge or with some trumped up charge.

Either way, please know that outside pressure (Gaiatsu) works to spread the word of the crimes done to dolphins in Taiji. There are more Cove Guardians scheduled to arrive in the next few days. Rest assured, if Mel and the 12 are held for longer than a day, there will be a tsunami of Guardians getting on planes.

And we still need Japanese to step up for the inner pressure that will ultimately change things. Until then...please follow your inspiration to make a difference in the dolphin wars.

Please support Sea Shepherd. They have what it takes continue raising awareness and applying pressure. Please support other groups and individuals when they come to Taiji too. Please come to Taiji if you are ready for the activist experience of your life.

Baby Dolphins and Japanese Embassies

We save baby dolphins.

by Steven Thompson, TDAG 
Sept. 7, 2012

The next stage begins.

When the hunt is on and the dolphins haven't been netted yet, I hold a vision of escape: fast, far and free. Some dolphins are bound to escape. May they tell the tale to other dolphins to keep away from Taiji as scientists say they can.

When dolphins get roped into the Cove, it is time for the next stage: make the call to consulates and embassies and the people in charge. Get creative. Visit the embassies...remember the names of the people you talk with or meet with.

With a baby pilot whale in the Cove confirmed, our next step is clear. Please call any Japanese outlet and demand that at least the baby and his mother be saved. Killing a baby or pregnant female, even in a hunt, is murder.

This approach focus was suggested by a Japanese man in Taiji when Ric O'Barry and I showed The Cove in his home to him and his guests. He recommended an emotion approach after seeing the scene of the bloody baby dolphin swimming across the nets to diver Mandy-Rae Cruickshank "Japanese love dolphins; use this love to save them", he said.

Holding the pod overnight is rare now. It is an unusual opportunity. Please make calls every hour for the next 20 hours. Babies are the heart string. Play it!

Ask if there are any pregnant females. If Embassy officials don't know the answer, ask them to find out, you'll call back. Give them the numbers of the Mayor and the Taiji union in charge of the hunt. Give them the names.

Mayor SANGEN ,Kazutaka Taiji Town Hall
Call: 073-559-2335
Fax: 073-559-2801

Mr. MATSUMOTO, Shuichi, President and
Mr. Shimetani (Private Space) Kazutoyo, Chief Butcher
Taiji Isana Union
Call: 073-559-2340
Fax: 073-559-2821                                   (Add 81 for Int'l and drop the first zero)


Some may question the survivability of baby dolphins, and their mothers, pregnant females, and perhaps a few males. Dolphin scientist Diana Reiss told me that it is by no means certain that they will die. It is more possible that they will contact other dolphins and warn them! Baby dolphins have been released before with other remaining members of their pod when the pressure was on. Let's apply pressure any way we can!


Dolphin lovers, please place contact lists in the replies section in this document. Thank you.

For the baby dolphins and for all humanity!

We Make Dolphins the Japanese Agenda

Mayor Sagen, Taiji, Japan talking about us

by Steven Thompson, TDAG 
Sept. 2, 2012

I got a telephone call today from a Japanese friend at the Cove today. Ric O'Barry and I showed the Cove (watch for free) at the home of our mutual friends in Taiji four years ago. We still have security issues for the Japanese. Violence is possible. Town shunning is par for the course. It's not easy to challenge the tradition of the-way-it's-always-been-done.

My friend cannot easily contact Sea Shepherd or Save Japan Dolphin activists directly. He has a message for them--he's happy you are here. Many Taiji people are happy you are here! The hunt gives their town a bad reputation. He is on good speaking terms with people in Taiji including hunters. It's a small friendly town.

The message to Cove Guardian, Melissa Sehgal, and Cove Monitor Tim Burns, is that the hunters are upset...he used the phrase "mecha okotteiru" (damn angry). Being here works. Thank you for coming! We could arrange a meeting sometime when the undercover police escort stops tailing you or you slip away.

The hunters get together at the Isana izakaya (bar) after their hands are clean. Deiter Hagmann with Atlantic Blue, got some good footage in the bar and we observed the Korean live dolphin export party when we got one of our tires sabotaged. The hunters also lounge around outside the union smoking cigarettes after they get cleaned up. They are happy to talk to people walking by, including non-Japanese. I have shared potato chips with them. They usually love to debate. Really. It's always a bit of rowdy fun. But today was different.

The media coverage...the heavy and constant police presence...the town meeting...Taiji will feel under siege for 6 months and today is just the second day. The news last night (Sept. 1, 2012) in Japan prime time covered the opening of dolphin killing season. The news anchor seemed more concerned about Sea Shepherd than the peacefully assembled Save Japan Dolphin Activists. Sea Shepherd has become the buzz word for those attacking Japanese "culture".

Activists around the world demonstrated in front of Japanese consulates and embassies. Now that we have activists reporting minute by minute from Taiji, we have taken over the Japanese agenda in every city where there are dolphin activists and a Japanese presence. We are the Japanese agenda.

One well-known hunter, SHIMETANI Kazutoyo (aka Private Space), who helps manage the day to day hunt and butchery, had no idea who he was talking to. He was angry. he even uses the F-word, in English of course. I interviewed him when he was following me around with a video camera when I was alone at the Cove. When I turned my camera off, he started talking. Shimetani san really is a nice guy. He has a good heart. He isn't evil. His soul is not corrupted. I think he is just following tradition, and extremely misguided.

I hope he doesn't have a heart attack. I hope he sees the light and saves baby dolphins and pregnant females at least.

The hunters have gone back after killing and released babies, pregnant females, and a few males when we protested two years ago. It's a time consuming reverse process of banging the poles and pushing frighted dolphins out near international waters. Of course they may be intelligent and warn other dolphins to stay away (I think they did...the hunt numbers are down as a result). When the hunters do make the decision not kill every male, female, and baby, Taiji will not be known as the dolphin baby killing capital of Japan. There are more options for Taiji than following tradition blindly. Please demand that that the dolphins save the babies and pregnant females. This is the strategy recommended to us by trusted Japanese people.

I recommend a letter writing campaign too--it has certainly worked for Amnesy International: Identify the people doing bad things, and inundate them with mail. The wonderful thing about post offices is that they will hand deliver your message. These are the men most responsible for dolphin deaths in Japan.

Let's all write a letter every week to:

1. Mayor SANGEN Kazutaka at the Taiji Town Office

Taiji Town Office 3767-1, Taiji, Taiji-cho, Higashimuro-gun, Wakayama 649-5171  Japan

2. Mr. SHIMETANI Kazutoyo, Chief Butcher, at the Isana Union.

Taiji Isana Union 3167-7, Taiji, Taiji-cho, Higashimuro-gun, Wakayama 649-5171  Japan

Also consider writing to
3. Mr. MATSUMOTO Shuichi, the President of the Taiji Isana Union (Gyo Gyo Kumiai). Same address as Mr. Shimetani.

Taiji Isana Union 3167-7, Taiji, Taiji-cho, Higashimuro-gun, Wakayama 649-5171  Japan

Consulates and Embassies
The staff at these offices exist to answer our questions. Please ask them if they could advocate for the baby dolphins. You can call in English anytime. Many have 24 hour numbers.

If they don't have the telephone number to call off the hunt, you can give it to them.

Mayor Sangen                                          
Taiji Town Hall                                               Taiji Isana Union (Gyo Gyo Kumiai)
Call: 0735592335                                            Call: 0735592340
Fax: 0735592801                                            Fax: 0735592821
Add 81 for Int'l and drop the first zero

The alternative to the killing is to hold a new vision for Taiji...a beautiful Taiji...maybe with wild dolphins happy to interact in the open seas.

Dolphins can be so forgiving.

They will help.

Give 'em a chance.

First, save their lives.

For the Taiji Dolphins!

Note: I am not a member of Sea Shepherd or Save Japan Dolphins, but I think they are doing a heck of a good job spreading outside pressure (gaiatsu) awareness to end the dolphin hunt. Please support the individuals using their own funds to get involved. Please support Japanese activist when you find them. They are ones who will end this. They are the ones who will create an alternative.

Summer Paul Watson Rumors

Freer by the day!

by Steven Thompson, TDAG
Find Pauldo!  Has he jumped bail?  Is he on the lamb?  Is he saving lambs now?

Rumor has been proven false by German conservationists working behind the scenes.

Paul Watson most certainly did NOT jump bail.

Reading is such fun...rumors fly...the challenge to confirm or deny gives some of us something to do.

Some highly detailed speculation in Costa Rica here by people who could be uncovering the actual criminal finner links instead.

If I had a chance to bet on the case, I'd say the case will fade away by Costa Rican finners' inaction in about 17 days.

Take a vacation! Watch Moby! There is no news!
___________________________________________________________________________
ERROR CORRECTION: We were wrong. Capt. Paul Watson found it necessary to leave Germany and forfeit his bail money. His current whereabouts are unknown. We wish him happiness, and the best of luck. We will carry on your work!
__________________________________________________________________________