Peter Bethune

How many kinds of idiot can you be in one hit. Pete Bethune seems be an all-in-one Dumbass.

1 - You deliberately drive a carbon fibre boat in the path of a solid steel whaler and wonder who was going to come off best.
2 - You board the ship that hit the boat in international waters, trying to make a citizens arrest, for which you had to right to do in the first place.
3 - You then turn to the New Zealand people for support, when its your own dumbass fault in the first place
4 - After being released from a potentially hard labour prison sentence then blow your nut off at the government for in your mind, not doing enough to support you.
5 - After all of that, do not seem to get still, you put yourself there, in harms way, and essentially gave yourself over to the Japanese government in the first place.

I'm no whaling supporter. I don't like what they are doing in the first place and do not support it. But there are two things I am not going to do.
1. If I had the money, I certainly would not be driving my expensive boat in the path of a whaler.
2. Be donating money to a cause or an organisation who endorses actions like that, putting human lives at risk.

I personally hope that Sea Shepherd's ban is not what he thinks in terms of being a ploy to broker a deal. I really hope they ban his ass and that he fully realises he stuffed up and turned a respectable organisation into what seems to be a suicidal bunch of idiots who will kill themselves to save a humpback.

Not that it is the same mentality, but a long time ago the Japanese proved when they were committed to a cause they were prepared to die. If you need examples, think back to World War 2. But everything that Mr Bethune got, he deserved.

Lets say I go overseas and I deliberately import banned substances. I should expect the full extent of criminal law to be measured to me. Sure, I may look to my government for help, but I should also know, that if i break the law, its my own dumb fault.

This section is taken from the NZ Herald online and sums up essentially my feelings.

"I think he's downright ungrateful. The people in Japan did everything they possibly could," Mr Key told reporters in Vietnam."I've seen a list of the engagement they had with him. It was very extensive.

"They did everything they possibly could and I stand by the actions of our people in Japan, who worked extremely hard to help him through a very difficult process."

Mr Bethune should remember that he got himself into the situation, Mr Key said.

"He had a letter that said 'I do not want to be taken off the boat under any circumstances and I do want to be taken to Japan' and he was.

"We gave him all the support that we possibly could and, in the end, he's had a sentence that has allowed him to return to New Zealand but to somehow lash out and blame our people in Japan under the leadership of our ambassador there, Ian Kennedy, who has done a tremendous job for him, I think it's just ungrateful."

Mr Bethune today claimed his trial had been a miscarriage of justice because the Japanese whalers did not face charges for sinking his $3 million ship, the Ady Gil.