I agree. Two wrongs don't make a right.

I agree with the overall sea shepherd mission though. The only thing I think is questionable is the fact that they board the whaling vessels. Everything else they do though they are entitled to in my opinion. (Including bombarding the Japanese vessels with slime considering the Japanese use water cannons and acoustic weapons to attack the sea shephard ship).

I guess I am trying to see what the difference is between the Sea Shepard and an Al Qaeda terrorist faction.

Aside from the obvious ones (because I think I know what you're trying to say)...

none

Both are non-state actors moved by an ideology fighting against the actions of a governments whose actions they despise.

But making ridiculuous comparisons which only hold true in the most general terms is not really helpful to reasonable debate.

It's only ridiculous if you are unable to put the philosophy aside and look at what they are doing.

Both are non-state actors moved by an ideology fighting against the actions of a governments whose actions they despise.

I would put it like this: Both are rogue agents moved by an ideology but act using violence and terrorism against those that are not the instigators of the ideology they are fighting against. Both use violence and terrorism to change people's thinking, and history has shown that technique only begets more violence.

The Sea shepherd is not a rogue agent. They have access to Australian and New Zealand ports among others and are not criminals in these nation-states. The only laws Sea shepherd have broken is International maritime law... but considering it is normal for countries (even "lawful" countries like the USA) to break International law I don't think this is the best way to describe them.

Also I don't think the violence Sea shepherd initiates (if it does so) is aimed at changing the way people (Japanese or otherwise) think directly. It's aimed at doing damage to the whaling fleet so that they lose money everytime they go on a hunt.

The more money Japan loses either repairing damaged ships or providing naval protection from a potential threat... the more the sea shepherd's mission has been accomplished.

After reading that they sound more like Al Qaeda terrorist factions than I originally thought.

Al Qaeda terrorist factions have safe havens in certain places, too. You can say they have only broken "maritime laws", but their actions are not much different from terrorists (kidnapping, sinking ships, destruction of property). They sink ships, calling the sailors of those ships "pirates", kind of how Al Qaeda calls Westerners names to justify their actions.

Well they don't sink ships.

They've never kidnapped.

Their tactics are aimed at disrupting their operation. Not destroying the ships or murdering, maiming or capturing the whalers.

As for these safe-havens. Al Qaeda safe havens exist in nations which are also at odds with the West. New Zealand and Australia as well as many of the other nations opposed to whaling (The United States included) have an otherwise more than friendly relationship with Japan.

Also you're really stretching it with your "name calling" comparison. People call each other names all the time. Muslim fundamentalists use the word "infidel" (or that's what it translates to). Governments tend to call non-state actors that operate against them "terrorists". Al Qaeda or otherwise. If this is enough of a similarity for you to lump sea shepherd in with Al Qaeda then that is sad as I tend to regard you as one of the more intelligent members of this forum even when we disagree.

This is from their website:

Victory for the Whales in Berlin - Sea Shepherd

Since 1979, Sea Shepherd crew and agents have sent ten illegal whaling ships to the bottom:

1979 - The pirate whaler "Sierra" rammed and sunk in Portugal. 1980 - The outlaw whalers "Isba I" and "Isba II" sunk in Vigo, Spain.

1980 - The pirate whalers "Susan" and "Theresa" sunk in South Africa. 1981 - The illegal whaling ships "Hvalur 6" and "Hvalur 7" sunk in Iceland.

1992 - The outlaw whaler "Nybraena" sunk in Norway. 1994 - The pirate whaler "Senet" sunk in Norway.

1998 - The pirate whaler "Morild" sunk in Norway.

But you are right about the kidnapping. It was the Sea Shepard guys who were captured when they boarded a Japanese ship.

OK I stand corrected.

But still.. on their website they express pride in the fact that no lives were lost as a result of their activities.

Actually I just read the article you posted in full MMM.

In it, it claims that

"Sea Shepherd Conservation Society acts in accordance with the U.N. World Charter for Nature. This charter provides for the enforcement of international conservation law by nation states, non-governmental organizations and individuals. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is an anti-piracy organization and sinking pirate ships is sanctioned under international maritime law."

Those ships they sunk.. were apparently sanctioned by International Maritime law.

The Japanese ships of course are not pirates. But then again sea shepherd has not yet sunk any Japanese ships.