Ballsy Whalers

Artist credit:  Dreamlonging @ Deviant Art

Without a doubt, Japan whalers certainly have some serious cajones.  Just ten days before the IWC meeting, they have headed out to the NW Pacific to kill themselves some more whales. See:  Japan Launches Whaling Fleet 10 Days From Vote

IWC Chairman Cristian Maquieira has shared his proposal and believes anti-whaling nations, if they agree to this, "might actually secure a better deal for conservation."  :: cough cough ::

I like what one person said in the comment section after this article:

"I have a friend of mine who like to break into people's houses and take their things. He doesn't do it to be mean. He just needs to support his family. Now he is making society a very good deal. He will REDUCE that amount of robberies he commits by 1/2 if he is allowed to keep the the takings from his remaining outings without legal consequences. It sounds crazy, I know. But I am offering a reduction of home robberies by 1/2! How is this deal not good!"

But wait!  Here's the shocking part about all of this brouhaha over the whaling issue.  You ready?  It's all about money!  Shocking, isn't it?

See, it's going to cost just under 20 million buckaroos over the next decade to support this proposal.  Guess who pays for it?  Yup, tax payers.

Suuuuuuuurrrrrrreeee!  Why the hell not!  We're already paying untold amounts of taxes to our government to murder people in other countries so why not whales too!

But back to Japan and their undying love for all things whale and dolphin related.  The Cove was originally set to open in 27 theaters over there but were suddenly shut down.

Ric O'Barry is currently in Japan though fighting this.  You can read his update here:  The Cove Tokyo

Meanwhile, in another cove far far away, the Faroe Island dolphin culling continues. 

And to further compound Japan's hypocrisy and their cries of "We only kill whales for research" comes accusations of whale meat embezzlement!   I guess embezzlement is part of their cultural argument too?

By the way, Pete Bethune being held in Japan on various charges is another example of Japan's deceitful character.

Excerpt:

Bethune is on trial in the Tokyo District Court, charged with trespassing aboard a Japanese whaling ship, forcible obstruction of business, destruction of property, violations of weapons law and intentionally causing harm to a crewman, the latter offense being the only one he has not admitted.  (The bold is mine.)

Umm ... I seem to remember during this year's recent whaling in the Southern Ocean one of Japan's whaling ships pretty much running down Pete Bethune and his crew in the Ady Gil.  So how is it possible that he's awaiting trial in Japan, and yet Japan is getting away with attempted murder?

Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd has a commentary relating to Pete Bethune and his current situation.  Knights of Consequences

Interesting article:   BP Should Face Cruelty Charges

Last but not least, lest anyone think all us whale and dolphin loving tree huggers are just extremist environmental fanatics, please remember that without the ocean, we would not be alive.  As Sylvia Earle so eloquently puts it, the ocean is the key to our survival:

“The ocean drives climate and weather, shapes the character of the planet. We do know now that the ocean, where 97 percent of earth’s water is, is vital, not just to the dolphins, the whales, the coral reefs, the kelp forests; it’s our life support system, too. We are sea creatures as much as any of the other creatures who actually live in the ocean, because without the ocean, our lives would not be possible. Anything we care about—our economies, our health, our security, life itself—depends on the fact that this is a blue planet. The ocean is the key to our survival.”