Dan Cass's argument seems to be that the media should just trust Greenpeace because they have tight deadlines and because governments are bad. It would seem he is not really keen to discuss the incident at issue - the collision in the Antarctic.

But he should at least have given the whole story with respect to the advice from the marine law expert. Dr Eric Wilson also said that the Greenpeace ship rammed the Japanese ship, see
http://ambit-gambit.nationalforum.com.au/archives/001108.html .

While Cass only tells half the story here, last Sunday week the Greenpeace media release was a complete fabrication.

As Graham Young explained, there was evidence that showed it to be such but the mainstream media took days to pickup on this initially just repeating the Greenpeace propaganda.

Greenpeace and PETA give the green movement a bad name. Greenpeace if it wants to stop whaling needs to explain why it's okay to kill fish but not whales, why it's okay to kill roos but not whales.If it is done in a sustainable manner why is it wrong. Most Aussies don't ant whaling and guess what we don't do it but who are we to force our morals on other people. As for the media well there is very good reason why journos are disliked by all.

Thank you, Dan. A much more nuanced analysis, on both the media in general and this particular Greenpeace incident, than Graham Young's earlier article. I would humbly suggest you take note on both counts, Graham.

Jennifer, in regards to your statement, "the mainstream media took days to pickup on this initially just repeating the Greenpeace propaganda"; maybe there's a reason many journalists accepted the Greenpeace version of events over yours. Greenpeace has built up a solid reputation over many years; it has conducted some daring interventions but its core modus operandi has always been informed by its strong belief in non-violence. Whereas, and I don't know for sure, but I suspect that your reputation among journalists might not be quite so solid.

Greenpeace has been thoroughly discredited over the years and this is yet another example of why this is so.
They are blatant propagandists, and they should not be surprised that their antics cause incidents such as this.
I don't support whaling myself, but putting people in acute danger of their lives to "protest" it in this manner is irresponsible and childish.
They should tone down their rhetoric, stop these dangerous acts, and use more reasonable methods of protest.

Dan Cass needs to understand what the meaning of Fact is. You can't just say the sky is purple when it is obviously blue and then get all hoi ti tio ti when challenged.

Fact 1: The greenpeace ship was lined up facing the side of the Japanese ship.

Fact 2: The greenpeace ship started its enginges and began to move forward.

Fact 3: The greepeace ship hit the Japanese ship.

This is all clear from the video footage and no amount of spin is going to convince us that the sky is purple. And where is Bob Brown on all this?

Firstly I strongly support the position of Graham Young. Greenpeace (GP) of course holds strong views on many topics including nuclear energy; Genetic modified organisms; climate change and so on. Their views are extreme with emphasis on dangers and risks that are often at variance with the scientific literature. In the field that I know best (radiation health) GP is just plainly wrong.

The common theme in all of the issues advocated by GP and like organisations is simple, anti-market, anti-capitalism, anti-American (President Bush), and of course anti prime minister Howard. The message from GP is always negative and unhelpful. Predictions of doom are made regularly, unless of course one follows the GP prescriptions.

The media in its reporting of GP should understand that it is not a scientific or learned body; it is an advocacy group that has mastered the art of propaganda. The media should carefully check their pronouncements, even better consult with leading members of scientific and learned bodies in the appropriate field, before accepting GP statements at their face value. In reality there are many in the media who accept GP statements as a type of “revealed truth.” This makes it very clear that the media has a bias towards green/left politics coupled with a low level of scientific understanding.

As for the demonstrations by GP, many are of undergraduate standard, such as dressing up as dustbins. Clearly, according to Dan Cass GP itself is worried about recent maritime events, why else would it wish to distance itself from the Sea Shepherd group.