Ronda Rousey - Mental Midgetry?

Shark conservation messaging, or whatever, by fucking Shark GENIUS PdG - source.

And I cite,

It is a good, well constructed show with professional and scientific insight 

Right.

That was good old Riley who STILL desperately wants to be somebody in Sharks, or whatever, and STILL just does not get it and STILL publicly pals with human garbage.

Anyway, along with many reputable presenters, experts and shooters, we did obviously turn it down as we will categorically not host any shoot for Shark Week as long as they continue to air those horrible exploitative programs, and showcase those pathetic self promoting media whores and their pathetic feats.

Back then I called it mental midgetry. 

But I was wrong. It is so much worse than that.

Watch.

See what I mean?

No blame goes to poor naive Rousey and husband  who have been obviously conned into believing that any of that is in any way an accomplishment. 

But seeing how all that fabricated gratuitous and misleading hype by those fucking self important morons is portraying sweet old Blunt, Gillette, Crook and Granma as lethal killer machines really gets my blood boiling. How dare they!
And no you fucking hypocrite: it is not epic, it is fucking pathetic!

And the bloody operator?

Need I really point out the idiocy of publicly allowing a total beginner to feed your Sharks on your dive - and of allowing another total amateur and untrained ignoramus to pose as a feeding expert? 

Is this maybe the reason why Aqua Trek have shortly thereafter fired Brandon their fucking GENIUS Shark whisperer, and this apparently with cause? Hardly - but here's to that, and good riddance; and here's to the guys down the road using this as an opportunity for some fucking reflection, and to them and others (...) stopping to enable all those revolting Shark porn media that are ultimately harming Fiji's reputation as a Shark ecotourism destination!

Anyway.

Like an old broken record, let me repeat - over and over and over again.

Here are my own questions to fellow Shark diving operators and conservationists.

• Are we gonna continue to pretend this (read!) is not happening?

• Are we gonna continue to watch that shit?

• Are we the operators gonna continue to enable it?

• Are we gonna continue to give our business to operators who do?

• Are we gonna continue to admire and to associate with those people?

Questions questions!

PS - Comments: please post them here & not on Facebook. Thanks!

Shark Porn in New Zealand!

Watch the video - nothing has changed! Source.

And I cite.

Discovery's angle seems to hinge on the fear people have of the unknown, and especially the unknown in the water where they swim. Shark Week has been so good at tweaking and magnifying this fear, that generations of viewers who grew up watching the show are afraid to go in the water...

The problem is not only that there is a fatal prejudice against sharks, but that it is not even recognized.
In the case of other animals, such as snakes, everyone knows that there is a deep bias against them, but in the case of sharks, the stark contrast between sharks as they are portrayed, and sharks as they really are is unseen.

The public actually believes that sharks behave the way they are shown on Shark Week.

Indeed, and bravo Ila!
 

Watch what these people do to New Zealand's GWS.

Think that those Sharks are behaving naturally around boats, or have they been amped up intentionally in order to create all that idiotic drama - and how does this disrespectful rubbish adequately illustrate those past 10 years of stellar research by NIWA and DOC?

Yes it's same old same old, pure Shark Porn.

Have you read this comments thread?

Pitchforks and Flaming Brands is obviously an insider, and she knows what she is talking about. Shark Week is not some amorphous entity, it is people - and together with Sorensen's small team who defines the overall direction (= ever more exploitative garbage), those folks she calls out are definitely some of the worst serial perpetrators.
 

And like an old broken record, let me repeat.

Here are my own questions to fellow Shark diving operators and conservationists.

• Are we gonna continue pretending this aint happening?

• Are we gonna continue watching that shit?

• Are we the operators gonna continue enabling it?

• Are we gonna continue giving our business to operators that do?

• Are we gonna continue associating with those people?

Is anybody, ever, gonna learn the obvious lessons?

The good news?

From a conservation point of view -and here I differ with Ila- it thankfully matters not!

Does Shark Week harm Conservation Efforts?

Maybe!

But IMO it's more of an ethical than a practical issue.

This new article in Scientific American echoes the known reservations by Chris Palmer and many others about the widespread fakery in wildlife films that has just reached a new ignominious peak in the Megalodon fabrication. I've already blogged about this topic years ago and invite you to go and read it here - and here is one of several posts about the best way to go about when producing advocacy films, that is to showcase the positive and fascinating aspects instead of trying to shock the audience, especially if we wish to reach out beyond our own circles and not continue to preach to the choir. Love not Loss!

That's the theory, and the arguments are I believe impeccable.

But what about the practical implications?

Will people who love the film vote in a positive way for senators and congressmen who will vote in a more sustainable manner like Palmer asserts? Yes, maybe - but if so, that would be a tiny interested minority, the more as I don't recall one single political campaign focusing on marine conservation, let alone on the conservation of Sharks?

Like I said, it's more of an ethical debate.

And in that sense, those programs are a total abomination!

para_sight is of course absolutely correct in his observation that as long as the ratings remain so stellar, Discovery couldn't give a shit and will continue laughing all the way to the bank. But what about those fake conservationists who enable and endorse that shit - think they are equally impervious to criticism?

We shall see - and I may add, so far so bad!

And in the big scheme of things?

There, I would surmise that this conversation is totally irrelevant!

I can promise you that the thousands of fishermen in Indonesia, India, Spain, Taiwan, Argentina, Mexico, United States of America, Malaysia, Pakistan, Brazil, Japan, France, New Zealand, Thailand, Portugal, Nigeria, Islamic Republic of Iran, Sri Lanka, Republic of Korea and Yemen do not kill those Sharks because they hate them owing to having watched Jaws or for the matter, the Shark porn on Discovery! And by the same token, I can equally promise you that they will not stop killing them because of the latest inane video clip of the token bimbette swimming loops around a perplexed OWT!

I mean, seriously - that argument is so stupid, it is frankly embarrassing!

I'm not saying that good wildlife programming is not beneficial.

It is very much so, especially in the long term. It may indeed sway voters and possibly change the political discourse - tho considering that An Inconvenient Truth failed to spark any substantive policy despite of an Oscar, plus a Nobel Prize for Gore and the IPCC I'm alas rather skeptical. 

But those excellent productions will undoubtedly again arouse a new generation of advocates, conservationists and researchers, and those will hopefully make a contribution for the better. As an example, I'm convinced that we would be still condoning the killing of the big cats for trophies and fur coats, and that we would still be purchasing ivory trinkets and tortoise eyeglass frames were it not for those past stellar wildlife documentaries!

So by all means, keep at it!

But can we please stop those stupidities.

All those pathetic shark videos by those desperate self promoters with big cameras and small talents that are being pushed around the film festival circuit, to be acclaimed by the vegan organic cotton and Birkenstock mob. All those atrocious Shark conservation edits on YouTube that are an insult to one's intelligence. 

And especially all those media featuring those Shark-molesting scantily clad bimbos who are doubly pathetic once one realizes that they are merely being pimped, for profit, by those very same producers and camera-toting dudes! Seriously, conservation is literally awash in incredibly smart, committed, hard working and emancipated women who are quietly doing terrific work for Shark conservation, largely away from the public eye - and not a single one would demean and embarrass herself in that way, ever! 

Any names come to mind?

And if so, why are we tolerating all that bullshit?

And Shark Weeek?

Meh. Up to you. 

Watch it, or don't - it doesn't really matter one way or the other.

The Megalodon Fabrication - more Fallout!

Source - and bravo PBS for ridiculing that shit!

Bingo.

There's even more outrage.

First and foremost, read this post by who else but the Megalobomb showing that this kind of crap has real repercussions. And then, there's this, this and this, and here's a list of posts about real Shark topics - and here's a stellar one by Ila, written before this latest disaster!
And I'm sure that there's plenty more I haven't found!

Discovery is trying to justify the fiasco, and I did like David's reaction.

Discovery Channel defends it's decision to air Megalodon nonsense: 

 "We wanted to explore the possibilities of Megalodon,” Michael Sorensen, executive producer of Shark Week, told FOX411 in a statement. “It’s one of the most debated shark discussions of all time, can Megalodon exist today? It’s Ultimate Shark Week fantasy. The stories have been out there for years and with 95% of the ocean unexplored, who really knows?” 

Scientists really know, you irresponsible moron. 
You know, too, or else you wouldn't have had to hire actors to play the scientists in the show, and you wouldn't have had to doctor photos and videos to make it seem like megaladon was around.

Indeed!

But, people are talking and therefore, it's all good - right? 

And I repeat.

And here are my own questions to fellow Shark diving operators and conservationists.

• Are we gonna continue pretending this aint happening?

• Are we gonna continue watching that shit?

• Are we the operators gonna continue enabling it?

• Are we gonna continue giving our business to operators that do?

• Are we gonna continue associating with those people?

And what about those Shark "conservation" orgs and individuals who actively endorse and partake in it - are we gonna continue pretending it ain't happening, either?

To be continued no doubt!

PS more fallout here.
We stand behind all of our content and are proud of it.

Just great isn't it.

Amish Sharks?

How come I'm not surprised.

I've reiterated what we think about Discovery here.

Read the links!

The Shark Angels, on the other hand, endorse that shit.

The pro-Discovery marketing comes from none other than serial el cheapo Shark pornographer ABC4 who earns his living from filming and producing that crap  - and very much looking forward to being eventually regaled with the results of this year's round of shenanigans in Bimini!

And from the serial Shark molesting Executive Director!

Now that she has apparently repented, or whatever, she dances - not because she is a narcissistic self promoter but because THAT is gonna convince the Indonesian, Indian and Mexican fishermen to stop killing those Sharks! Ain't REAL conservation just a wonderful, wonderful thing - and so much fun on top of that!

A HERO no less - watch this space!

“But at the end of the day, Shark Week gets people talking about sharks – isn’t that what it is all about?”

No it is not -  but that's of course what Andersen is all about: talk!

And moldy duck wings!

Others are not amused.

See here, here, here, here, here; here, here and here - and there's undoubtedly more to come once Kurr's idiotic serial killer Shark goes on air!
And here's the take by the Shark Defenders!

Just appalling.

Wolfgang and Ila are absolutely correct - it's same old same old, and if this analysis is correct, the pressure to keep up with their abominable peers is likely to lead to even worse, not better programming!

And so it goes!