IWC Debates Legalizing Murder

(Artist credit:  Jeff Wilkie)

How does anyone or any country compromise on the murdering of sentient beings?   Such is the situation at the IWC talks currently taking place down in Florida.  The two countries battling it out the most are, to no one's surprise, Australia and Japan.

Japan is basically still whining that whaling is part of their culture and they want a return to unlimited whaling.  

Australia wants ZERO whales killed.

Neither is willing to compromise nor meet each other half way.

Meanwhile, the coward in this game?  The good ole U.S.A. for abstaining, so far, on any decisions.

Politics - ain't it grand?  

Meanwhile, whales, dolphins, sharks, turtles, manatees, etc do not play the game of politics.  They are simply trying to live their lives in their rightful homes - the ocean, and to have the right to be free of human egoism and greed.  

Links to articles discussing the latest IWC talks on the fate of our planet's whales:

Whaling Compromise Reaches a Dead End

PM Set on Suing Over Whaling

IWC Draft Document Promotes Regulated Whaling

Danish Whaling Request Postponed

Lots of articles out there on the IWC talks, just put "IWC" in your favorite search engine.

If you're against whaling, you may want to send a message to President Obama and let him know how you feel.  I've personally sent an email a couple days ago.  Does this sort of action work?  I don't know, but at least I'm speaking up for a species that has no voice.  What are you doing?  :-)     Contact President Obama at the White House.

There's still a lot of talk out there about the Sea World incident and about keeping wild animals in captivity and/or for the purpose of entertaining us dumb humans.  This one article is short, sweet, and right to the point:  Best to Allow Wild Animals to Stay Wild

Another related and just as short and sweet:  Skip the Zoo, and Sea World

Sea World doesn't give a crap about their whales and dolphins.  They do give a crap about money.  Money talks people.  Please do NOT support Sea World in any way and any other park like it.  Imagine the power of people NOT buying tickets to see the shows and NOT buying the merchandise?  People fail to realize just how much power they have over corporations.  The common language we have with the greedy corporations is MONEY.  They want it, you don't have to give it to them.

The battle between the whales and the military rages on and looks like it will continue to do so for some time to come.  As with any battle, there are victories and there are defeats.  This article gives us a mixture of both:  Whales vs Navy: NOAA May Limit Sonar Tests

Are you planning to tune into the Academy Awards?  As you know, The Cove has been nominated for best documentary.  I normally do not watch awards shows, but will be checking for updates on the internet to see if they've won :-)

If you live in Australia, you may be interested in this site:  Save Our Marine Life    Having less than 1% of the marine life protected is a pretty sorry number wouldn't you say?  Get involved!

Site spotlight:  Earth Island Institute

Be sure to check out Sea Shepherd for their latest updates.

As new age'y and hippie'ish as this sounds, we are all connected on this planet.  This isn't about being a tree hugging environmentalist.  This is about caring about your world and all that live on it and in it.  Saving the whales and the dolphins, etal, and caring about the fate of our oceans could result in you saving your own life.  Otherwise, we're all just committing a slow and agonizing suicide.

The choice is ours.

Mahalo,

Dolphin

Basketball and Whales

Artist credit:  Howie Long

Brrrrr.  Dang cold out here.  No snow yet but it's a near certainty we'll have a white Christmas :-)

Watched the Laker game tonight on TV.  Despite being the champions, they are not on TV all that much in my area so when they are, it's a gift for me.  I'm sick of seeing the Cavaliers and the Pistons dominate the airwaves, no offense to the likes of Lebron James.

I was admiring the sellout crowd at the Staples Center and wishing it could be like that for the WNBA games.  Personally, I don't understand why the people who are fanatics about the men's basketball aren't supporting the women. So many people say it's not the same.  Well DUH.  Maybe the women can't dunk like the men do, but they play a pretty damn good game if people would just give them a chance.  Others say the women are boring.   You know what I say?  I say the media has done a great job of brainwashing society into viewing things a certain way.  

I enjoy watching both genders play and appreciate the differences and the talents both sides bring to the sports world.  If one is truly a basketball fan, then they ought to be a women's hoops fan too.  Just sayin'.

Check out the WNBA if you are so inclined.  Their season may be over for now, but they'll be back next May.  Until then, the women's college hoops are always a lot of fun to watch too.  

Japan, ever the hypocrites they love to be, filed a complaint with the Dutch government to disallow the Sea Shepherd to carry the Dutch flag.  You can read that here.

The good news: (Excerpt from the above linked article)

The Mainichi Daily News of Japan asked this question this weekend:With it's modus operandi becoming ever more violent in recent years, could the group bring about the end of whaling in Japan?

Their activities have caused catches in the past two years to drop to just 60-75 percent of expected figures, and this year Watson says he wants to get this figure down to at least half.

 Great articles:  Whales Save Seal from Orcas

Whales, Dolphins, and Good Will to all Cetaceans

Japan's new Consumer Affairs & Food Safety Minister, Ms.Fukushima has agreed to investigate the dolphin meat / mercury issue.  You can read up on it at Mercury Poisoning in Japan

Blog post about Sea Shepherd at the Ecorazzi.  Check out the comments after the article.  Paul Watson has posted there.  Whale Wars:  Why This Season Might Be the Most Dangerous Yet

On December 7th, the Steve Irwin will depart Australia and start hunting down the Japanese fleets.  I wish them God Speed.

Turns out that the mid-frequency range sonar sounds may NOT be causing harm or the beaching of whales and dolphins:  Whales Can't Even Hear Naval Sonar

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving holiday :-)  Till next time ...

Mahalo,

Dolphin

Humpback Kill Suspended - For Now

(Artist Credit: Jeff Wilkie)

Well, it appears to be official now. Japan has agreed to suspend it's humpback whale hunt while discussions are under way to reform the International Whaling Commission. They still are still on track to pursue over 900 Minke whales and over 50 Fin whales.

Links:

Japan Calls Off Whale Cull

Under Pressure, Japan Suspends Humpback Hunt


I was going to write something snarky about the Beluga Whales being forced to entertain the ignorant Japanese audience members, but this writer did it for me. Leave the Animals Alone


Enough (for now) about all the killing, politics, and fighting, it's making me depressed.

Check out the following links. They are absolutely stunning.

Whale Footage

Wild Things Photography

Life Size Whale


Mahalo,

Dolphin

Wonder of Whales

(Artist credit: David Miller)

Captain Paul Watson, of the Sea Shepherd organization, sent a letter to Australia's Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd a few days ago. He basically ask if Mr. Rudd is going to keep his campaign promise to send the Navy out to track the Japan whaling activities.

You can read it here: Act for the Whales

That was dated December 12, 2007

As of December 14th, it does appear that Australia will follow through and dispatch the Navy and Air Force to monitor the Japanese whalers.

Excerpt:

Aircraft are expected to follow the whaling fleet, which left Japan about a month ago.

Evidence gathered is expected to be used in a legal fight with Japan's Government.

Mr. Rudd states further details will be forthcoming next week.

I like what this author has to say about the Japan Whaling: Japan, Whaling, and a World of Fools

Excerpt:

Japan and whaling appears the same as the US and oil. Both countries can’t seem to get enough of their respective commodities and make up excuses to go get it wherever it may be.

and

And for those people who think humans are the numero uno species on this planet, I truly hope one day you meet a superior force that inflicts on you what you have due.

I like that writer's style.

Last, but by no means least, here is an amazing article with amazing pictures of a mother whale and her calf. Words don't do justice in describing this and I can only imagine what an incredible experience it must have been to bear witness to all of this.

Mother and Calf Bond


Mahalo,

Dolphin

Whale Poop

(Artist credit: Jeff Wilkie)

It's in the poop ... whale poop that is.

The Japanese whalers have zero need to be hunting these mammals for "scientific purposes." All they need is the poop.

Read more here: Crap Science Beats Lethal Methods


Speaking of the whaling hunt currently underway in our Southern Oceans, Greenpeace finally has an update, and so far, it's not good.

For a country that claims they are doing all of this killing in the name of science, they sure are doing their devious best to hide and to ensure this is as much of a covert operation as possible. 69% of the Japanese citizens are opposed to their country's whaling, and yet it's their taxes that are paying for Japan's military to be out there ensuring that Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace are basically blindfolded and handcuffed.

Read more: The Race to Save 1000 Whales


One of the last great wilderness frontiers we have on this planet is up in Alaska near the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. But shhh, don't tell that to the oil companies because they could give a crap. All they want is their oil.

It's now up to the courts whether or not Shell will be allowed to drill. Alaskan citizens and various environmental groups are, of course, protesting allowing any drilling to take place, much less allowing for drilling to be done for "exploratory purposes."

Read more here: Court Asked to Block Alaska Oil Drilling

Haven't people learned from the oil spill recently in San Fransisco? Accidents happen. So for Shell to say: .."they have conducted a thorough environmental analysis and measures in place already protect whales and other wildlife. They also emphasized the drilling is for exploration only and oil extraction would require more study," is bullshit.

The polar bears are already struggling to survive and have become an endangered species. Orcas, Belugas, and other whales and mammals call this area their home. Even exploratory drilling can do irreparable harm to the wildlife of this region.

There's going to come a day when all we'll have left of our sea and land friends, are memories or pictures.

We don't need more oil. Our planet is just about out of places left for humanity to destroy and / or to exploit.

Mahalo,

Dolphin

10 Cool Things About Dolphins

There was a story not too long ago, about a pod of dolphins that saved some swimmers off the coast in New Zealand. Why were they being saved? A great white shark was trying to get to the swimmers, and a group of dolphins just suddenly appeared, surrounding the swimmers, and slapping the water with their tails to ward off the shark. Pretty damn cool!

This little story starts off a great top ten list of why Dolphins are so cool.

10 Cool Things About Dolphins

A sub-species of the dolphin family is the Irrawaddy dolphin.

Reports are mixed on just how vulnerable the Irrawaddy is. It does appear that they have become threatened of late and are in danger of becoming extinct.

They travel in small pods of around 10 dolphins and spread out over large areas. They tend to be found in rivers or in shallow marine waters in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and North Australia. Their appearance reminds me a little of the Beluga Whales.

If you're curious to learn more about the Irrawaddy dolphin, please check out the following links:

World Wildlife Fund: Irrawaddy Dolphin

Freshwater Irrawaddy Dolphins

Introduction to the Irrawaddy Dolphin

Ban for Rare Asian Dolphin Trade

Global Nature

I know the year is rapidly closing, but just a reminder that this year of 2007 has been dubbed worldwide as the "Year of the Dolphin." Be sure to check out their site and follow their news.

Here's a photo of what an Irrawaddy Dolphin looks like:



(Photo copied from http://marinebio.org)

Mahalo,

Dolphin