In the early days of January, the deep and chilly waters off the coast of Antarctica played host to a bitter confrontation between two old foes. As storm clouds rolled overhead, the crew of Japan's scientific whaling fleet found themselves battling once again with members of the environmental group Greenpeace, who had tracked them down with the intention of doing everything they could to stop their killing of whales.
Videos of the encounters show the Japanese ships - two observation ships, three whale "sampling vessels," and a research ship base where the animals are cut up (dubbed the "factory ship" by the environmentalists) - replete with "RESEARCH" stenciled on the side in big white letters. As the Japanese crews go about their business, activists in small inflatable craft play a game of cat and mouse, harassing the bigger vessels, trying to position themselves between the whales and the men wielding ...
