California Gray Whale Shot With Machine Gun

Associated Press:

An injured California gray whale was swimming out to sea Saturday after being shot with a machine gun off the western tip of Washington state, officials said.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Kelly Parker said five people believed to be members of the Makah Tribe shot and harpooned the whale Saturday morning. The extent of the whale's injuries were not immediately known.

Read the whole story: Associated Press

Comments

[Spaldeen]

10:02 AM on 09/10/2007

Do I support the noble native Americans who've suffered so grievously at the hands of the greedy, imperialistic capitalists? Or maybe I should support the whales, a worthy symbol of the environmental movement?

It's a Sophie's choice for the left.

[WilliePilgrim]

09:55 AM on 09/10/2007

The headline makes this story seem like some sort of LA Street violence, when a closer read reveals that in fact the culprits here were the tribal council and the Federal Beaurocracy for their 7 year delay in taking action regarding the legitimate claims of the Makahs'. Treaties are the law of the land and the Makahs that forced this measure should be congratulated. As for the whale...if you read the story and have any sensitivity to these tradional practices you would be aware that the hunters were sensitive to the proximity of the village and to the behavoir of the whale itself which in the context of the native religion of the Makahs was making itself an offering to the people in return for the respect the Makahs have shown through their community's good works. The fact that Coast Guards resources were squandered on these Makah men who posed no threat to either the coastal security or the peace of the area. And tragically, the whale itself was set adrift to sink and thereby provide no one with any good...and another year goes by as the values of the traditional Neah Bay inhabitants gets illegally steamrolled by people who know more about the world from pop psychology books and TV than from first hand experiences away from their comfy nests.

[bickerson4]

09:22 AM on 09/10/2007

Funny how the libs get their panties in a bunch about this but turn a blind eye to their own communities where the hip hopsters are killing each other like the Sunni and Shia.

Funny them liberals.

[Jason357]

09:03 AM on 09/10/2007

To think that Ms. Huffington dare go on national TV and brag about how strictly she edits her content. These headline discrepancies are starting to go past what one can call an honest mistake.

[FarSeeingArt]

09:26 AM on 09/10/2007

I agree, there was a significant lapse here.
Upon reading the article from seattlepi.com you would think that there are two separate incidents being confused here.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/330946_whale08.html?source=mypi

[FarSeeingArt]

08:59 AM on 09/10/2007

A .50 cal rifle was used. There are .460 cal rifles which may also be allowed. Specifically, these diameter projectiles come in a wide range of weights with a very wide range of powder charges behind them. We have .50 cal handguns with relatively small charges behind them and at the other end cartridges deemed necessary for Rhinos and Elephants (and whales). The need is to project through heavy skin and tissue for an effective kill.
The notion that a .50 machine gun was used is comical, bizarre and completely fictional. It is unnecessary, cumbersome and at best awkward. Not to mention illegal on many grounds, federal, state, local and international.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/330946_whale08.html?source=mypi

[Jason357]

09:10 AM on 09/10/2007

If one is going to "report" and call themselves a journalist, you'd think they would know that a .50 call machine gun requires an elaborate mount and can't just be fired like an M-16. That's not a minor error in reporting.

[Jason357]

08:41 AM on 09/10/2007

HuffPo. CHECK YOUR HEADLINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO MACHINE GUN!!!!!!!!!! .460 caliber rifle, probably a single shot.

[LenP]

08:34 AM on 09/10/2007

Meanwhile, Elliot Ness was hot on the trail of Pauly "Boom-Boom" Madrone...who recently gunned down "Blue-Boy",the top government witness in the lucrative whale-blubber syndicate."

(sound of sirens wailing...)

[Simone]

08:13 AM on 09/10/2007

This was a cruel and unnecessary act of barbarism. "Hunting whales is in my blood" is nonsense - more likely arrogance, self-righteousness and poor judgement are in his brain. And of course, another dead animal for no other purpose than some loon's self-gratification.

[totalliberal]

02:35 AM on 09/10/2007

These Native Americans are turning into red-neck, gun-nut, nose-pickers. Fuck their permits.

Whales are magnificent living breathing animals.

These Native Americans have turned into living breathing Dip-shits!

[StillAmused]

02:04 AM on 09/10/2007

Can't blame these skilled native hunters... after all, a gray whale is such a tiny, elusive target, even at close enough range to harpoon it. A few more rounds might've done the trick so the creature could've been towed back to the cheering assholes on the dock... instead of dying alone in deep water (and selfishly keeping those expensive buoys attached to the harpoons).

Fucking throwback imbeciles.

[stlrfan]

01:42 AM on 09/10/2007

How the hell did Cheney get to Washington and who invited him to go hunting?

[TheQuestion]

01:26 AM on 09/10/2007

There you go - so you do need an automatic weapon to hunt. I guess I was wrong all this time.

[Bugweed]

12:54 AM on 09/10/2007

The article in the Seattle Times of 9/09/2007 makes no mention of a machine gun. A rifle of .460 caliber was the only weapon described as being used in this illegal hunt. The article goes on to say that a 1999 whaling permit allows the natives to hunt a whale with a harpoon and then shoot it with "a .50 caliber gun". Maybe us liberals up here in the Northwest get somewhat confused when it comes to guns and bullet sizes, but even a cub reporter like Jimmie Olsen doesn't add facts that aren't true. I'm a non gun owning liberal from Seattle, and sorry the Natives aren't blasting away the whales with machine guns.

Yet.

[Chuckwheat]

12:38 AM on 09/10/2007

Fuck selling whales to the Japanese, let 'em eat PB & J like modern folk.

[QueenCeleste]

12:34 AM on 09/10/2007

Whales should not be murdered by anyone. These tribes should take another look at their "culture." When slaughter is involved it's time to give it up for more humane activities.

[maxfusion]

09:36 AM on 09/10/2007

Whoa now, this is the noble savage liberals love to draw reference to. The environmental front of the liberal/socialist pack is constantly referencing the native "balance with nature" factor. I reside in a rural area which is 75% Native American, and they'd love to have a conversation with you concerning the examination of "their culture".
By the way, only on this site is a "machine gun" mentioned. City liberals, humorous, if they weren't so dangerous.