More pictures here:

• The Green Picture: Iceberg Cat And Mouse

There was a new confrontation between the Shonan Maru and the Steve Irwin on Tuesday. Here’s two sides of the story:

• Water Cannon Battle In Frigid Seas: Report from Captain Paul Watson
• Dutch vessel attacks again Japanese ship Shonan Maru No. 2 (pdf)

The Ady Gil finally caught up with the Steve Irwin just after midnight Wednesday morning (yes, it’s still Tuesday night here.) Looks like they switched the green laser thing to the Ady Gil, or else each ship is equipped with one. It’s apparently a handheld device of some sort. I suppose it explains what they mean by “The Ady Gil crew defended their ship utilizing photonic disrupters in an effort to get the Shonan Maru No. 2 to back off to a safe distance.”

• Ady Gil Arrives in Antarctica
• New Zealand watercraft attacks Japanese ship Shonan Maru No. 2

I do appreciate, by the way, how many of my best pictures are coming from the whalers.

And here’s another take on the Sea Shepherd visit to French researchers at Commonwealth Bay, from the researchers’ side. Sounds like they’re a bunch of enviros, as you’d have to be to work there, but also like they’re happy to see almost anyone visit. No one else was expected there until sometime next month.

• Unexpected guests for dinner

• Indian navy thwarts pirates attempt on foreign vessel
• Somali pirates release Greek-owned ship, 21 crew
• Somali pirates released from Dutch frigate
• 56 Filipino seafarers still in Somali pirates’ custody

Meanwhile, a funny thing happened on the way to Antarctica…. tl;dr the Steve Irwin visited some nice Frenchies for a couple of days while they tried to shake the Japanese whalers off their tail, and the Ady Gil is underway after its third try.

• Sea Shepherd Receives French Support
• Finally: Stealth Boat Ady Gil En Route To Join Sea Shepherd

And since we’re on naval matters:

• India-flagged cargo ship adrift in North Pacific

• Sea Shepherd crew logs season’s first clash with Japanese whalers

First encounter of the season, and it turns into a water cannon battle:

A couple of days later, the Japanese deploy their Long Range Acoustical Device, and Sea Shepherd busts out a laser on them. Oh, and tries to foul their propeller too:

• Sea Shepherd complain about Japan’s ‘military’ fightback
• Sea Shepherd Aim Laser Ray At Japanese Whalers

Judging from that picture, the Steve Irwin’s got some new anti-boarding measures- the yellow spiky things along the side. You can see it better in some other pictures here. Looks like maybe a new hangar for their helicopter, too.

And where’s the Ady Gil during all of this?

• Whale crew return again

Back in port again, it seems. This time their new radar got wiped out by a big wave. That was a couple of days ago, and I can’t find any indication that they’ve sailed yet.

• Anti-whalers makes unscheduled return
• Anti-whaling boat repaired

• Sea Shepherd Picks Up a Japanese Tail En Route to Antarctica

At 1300 hours at a position 240 miles south of Albany in Western Australia, the crew of the Steve Irwin spotted a white vessel tailing in their wake at a distance of eight miles. Captain Paul Watson ordered a “Crazy Ivan” and the Steve Irwin did a 180 degree turn to head directly at the trailing vessel. The target responded by changing course due North. The Steve Irwin then changed course due South. The target followed with a course change to the South. The Steve Irwin then changed course to the West and the target followed suit. Another course change to South by Southeast put the target directly on the tail of the Steve Irwin again. The Japanese are keeping eight miles to the stern of the Steve Irwin.

“It looks like we have an escort to Antarctica,” said Captain Watson.

• Whale protesters sail for southern ocean
• Japan sends ships to monitor whaling protests

And looking up a bit, Burt Rutan & co. unveiled their second generation space ship yesterday. This one is supposed to carry actual paying passengers in the next couple of years:

• Virgin joins 70-mile-high club with launch of spaceship

The Ady Gil (formerly known as the Earthrace) is faster than anything either fleet has ever had, and it’s got Kevlar armor and a coat of stealth paint as well. Paul Watson says they’ll use it to get between Japanese harpoons and the whales.

If anyone’s going to get killed this year, this is how it’ll happen. The Ady Gil was built for a world speed record at circumnavigating the globe, not for frigid waters and icebergs. That kevlar armor may help, but the ship seems a mite delicate, and Antarctica is a long way from any real repairs.

But hey, Sea Shepherd crew say they’re willing to risk their lives, and they’ve certainly pushed their luck in the past. Sooner or later we’ll find out just how much they mean it.

Is it worth the risk, though? One measure is whether they can actually stop the whaling. They’ve cut into it in the past, depriving the Japanese fleet of its profits. This year, the heavily subsidized whaling program is under the scrutiny of budget-balancers. A combination of bad press and financial failure could be enough to scuttle the program.

Japan has fought back in a variety of ways. Last year they got Interpol in on the act, and more recently they’ve tried to get the Netherlands to yank the registration of Sea Shepherd’s other ship, the Steve Irwin. The Japanese wouldn’t cooperate with the Dutch investigation, however, so the Dutch refused this week to take action.

And Animal Planet is tagging along again for a third season of Whale Wars. I have to admit I’ve only watched a little of the first season so far, because hey, who can be bothered with TV? But it’s getting them more exposure than any direct action campaign I can think of on the enviro side of things, so I’m glad it’s still going strong.

The action is due to start sometime in December, so I’ll be sure to keep you up to date.

• Hungary’s Gypsies targeted in deadly attacks
• As Economic Turmoil Mounts, So Do Attacks on Hungary’s Gypsies

Jozsef Bencze, Hungary’s national police chief, said in an interview on Friday with the daily newspaper Nepszabadsag that the perpetrators, believed to be a group of four or more men in their 40s, were killing “with hands that are too confident.” Military counterintelligence is taking part in the investigation, Hungarian radio reported, and Mr. Bencze said the pool of suspects included veterans of the Balkan wars and Hungarian members of the French Foreign Legion.

Experts on Roma issues describe an ever more aggressive atmosphere toward Roma in Hungary and elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe, led by extreme right-wing parties, whose leaders are playing on old stereotypes of Roma as petty criminals and drains on social welfare systems at a time of rising economic and political turmoil. As unemployment rises, officials and Roma experts fear the attacks will only intensify.

Kosovo has never fully settled down after declaring independence, and unrest seems to be increasing again. No comprehensive roundup for today, but just a snapshot:

• EU police repel angry Serbs as violence flares in Northern Kosovo
• Serbia expects no more countries will recognise Kosovo
• Kosovo ‘Close’ to Joining IMF, Finance Chief Says
• History books for Kosovo Serbs to be rewritten
• Thieves snatch seized drugs from Kosovo police HQ

And assorted treehuggers facing The Man:

• Mafia Law Used Against Environmentalists for Tree Sits, Civil Disobedience, Blog Post
• Sea Shepherd trial will go ahead, judge rules

(Typical lousy Earth First! photo. Can’t tell what’s going on, can’t read the banners. They’re treesitting, if that helps.)

Piracy fail:

• Pirates attacking German ship captured off Somalia

In the attack on the German ship, pirates apparently mistook German FGS Spessart supply vessel for a commercial ship when they opened fire on it on Sunday afternoon, U.S. Navy 5th Fleet spokesman Lt. Nate Christensen said.

The German sailors returned fire and pursued the skiff while also calling in for support. Several naval ships — including a Greek and a Dutch frigate, a Spanish warship and the USS Boxer — sped to the area while a Spanish marine aircraft and two U.S. Marine Cobra helicopters joined the pursuit.

Robbery fail:

• ‘Dumb’ thief picks police summit

Assassination fail:

• FARC guerillas fail in bid to kill defence minister after spelling mistake

Bomb threat fail:

• Sea Shepherd Bomb Threat Phoned in By Drunk Fisherman

Kenneth James Archer admitted to calling in the threat because of a “dispute” with the crew members of Sea Shepherd. Police tracked him down because he made the call to the police from his cell phone.

Archer had been drinking at the time and was embarrassed by the whole ordeal. In court, the judge recognized this and issued a fine of $1,500 as the only punishment.

More animal mayhem:

• Runaway kangaroos on the loose in France

“We had 15 missing kangaroos — it was complete panic,” she told AFP.

Firefighters, police and gendarmes were mobilised to track down the animals as they bounded through the woods.

Another cannibal:

• Cannibal mum eats her chum

The 45-year-old shepherd was caught with marijuana in his car as he was setting off for an extended period with his flock in the mountains of Alto Adige, in the far north of the country. Police found 38 grams (about 1.3 ounces) in the car, and the shepherd, identified only as Giorgio D., was convicted of possession. But upholding an appeal against the verdict, the Court of Cassation ruled that the shepherd was justified in possessing this small quantity of the drug on account of “the long and solitary period” he was about to spend “in the countryside and the mountains, due to the migration of his flock of sheep”.

Feds looking to sell arrested anti-sealing ship

However, a release posted earlier this month on the society’s website had Watson saying any potential buyer should note the society does not recognize the validity of the sale. “Whoever buys the ship should be aware that we retain the registry and the original bill of sale and we will take back what is ours at the first opportunity. You don’t steal a ship from a pirate without repercussions,” Watson is quoted as saying.

• Satanist inmate sues county
• China bus thief, 13, causes road chaos

• Taxing pot could become a political toking point

Buoyed by the widely held belief that cannabis is California’s biggest cash crop, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano contends it is time to reap some state revenue from that harvest while putting a damper on drug use by teens, cutting police costs and even helping Mother Nature.

• Steve Irwin raid sparked by Japanese complaint
• Any Sea Shepherd charge needs A-G’s nod

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said Japan’s complaint about the Steve Irwin reached his organisation last week by way of the Japanese embassy in Canberra, and through the Australian embassy in Tokyo.

The official complaint stemmed from the director-general of the Japanese fishing agency.

Police confiscated the ship’s logbook and video footage of dramatic whale-killing scenes.

• FBI Arrests 4 Activists as “Terrorists” for Chalking Slogans, Leafleting and Protesting
• Four arrested in string of animal rights attacks on UC scientists

I’ve posted about the big civil disobedience at the US Capitol’s power plant before, but here’s more about it. All the contact people on their website seems to have Greenpeace and Rainforest Action Network emails. It’d be nice if this was the beginning of Greenpeace USA getting serious again. This here is the head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies:

• Civil Disobedience: Climate Change Edition

And finally:

• Geronimo’s heirs sue secret Yale society over his skull

Geronimo died a prisoner of war at Fort Sill, , in 1909. A longstanding tradition among members of Skull and Bones holds that Prescott Bush — father of President George Bush and grandfather of President George W. Bush — broke into the grave with some classmates during World War I and made off with the skull, two bones, a bridle and some stirrups, all of which were put on display at the group’s clubhouse in New Haven, known as the Tomb.

Here’s where he’s supposed to be buried at Fort Sill, OK: