Japanese whaling fleet sails again,

[H2Andy]

the 1,000 fold comes from US standards. you can turn a $10,000 donation to
a political campaign into $10,000,000 of public funding (that's a drop in the bucket)
in pork. i imagine it's about the same in Japan.

there is no money in whaling. there is money in receiving $10,000,000 in
government subsidies and "kicking back" $10,000 to the various politicians who
helped you.

you do need a "cover business," and whaling provides just that. there are hundreds
of other examples, but they all basically boil down to the same thing: an excahnge of
public money for a pittance back in campaign contributions.

look at the "Duke" Cunningham story and the ethanol subsidies in the US for more info.

 

[Capt Tom McCarthy]

Hold on, I'm a little confused about something. Watching a video on greenpeace.org you can see that a whaling ship they rammed clearly had "research" marked on its beam. Are these ships claiming they are research vessels in order to find a loop hole in whaling regulations? I may be jumping the conspiracy gun on this one.

 

[mislav]

Hold on, I'm a little confused about something. Watching a video on greenpeace.org you can see that a whaling ship they rammed clearly had "research" marked on its beam. Are these ships claiming they are research vessels in order to find a loop hole in whaling regulations? I may be jumping the conspiracy gun on this one.

You're not jumping the gun. There is plenty of info on this issue.

Here's just one example.

Btw, Mr. X, Catherine and others... great to see you guys. It's been awhile for me.

 

[Mr.X]

You're not jumping the gun. There is plenty of info on this issue.

Here's just one example.

Btw, Mr. X, Catherine and others... great to see you guys. It's been awhile for me.

Thanks for the link Mislav. Very nice to see you and Catherine too.



Sincerely, X

 

[Capt Tom McCarthy]

Wow, I think I remember an old marine bio professor talking about this. That article just sparked my memory. He said that apparently these Japanese whaling companies who purchase "surplus" meat are paying off so called scientists to vouch that what they're doing is in fact scientific. Unfortunately it's hard to prove it on paper. I don't know how true this is but apparently he had a fellow colleauge from japan who told him this.

 

[H2Andy]

the "scientific" claim is simply a way to get around the whale hunting ban.

there is an exception to the ban for "scientific" purposes. so, the japanese fleet now claims to be engaged in hunting only for "scientific" purposes, with
the by-product meat being sold (so as not to "waste it").

it's so disingenous it's not even funny

but again, Norway and Iceland continue to hunt outside the ban. not sure
why no one ever gives them grief.

 

[Mr.X]

but again, Norway and Iceland continue to hunt outside the ban. not sure
why no one ever gives them grief.

Absolutely correct. Norway's take last year of local Minke was probably close to the numbers collected in the Antarctic. Here's an older link with some suggested statistics.
see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4530415.stm

Iceland has a smaller whaling industry and because of that probably does not get noticed as much. I am just trying to figure out the next step? Letters to Norway and Iceland. Ask Bjork?

I think Japan's whaling industry gets the most attention because they are the most two-faced about the affair. Nothing like being duplicitous to get ire up.

 

[jbilicska]

Latest update:

Japanese IWC members are threatening all sorts of things again.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/T185017.htm


It's just a nightmare that just keeps getting worse. Arrggh! X

So let them quit, call their bluff. They don't play by the RULES anyway. And like H2ANDY states theres more to it then just the right to eat Whale Blubber!

Joe B

 

[neilstewart]

Dear H2Andy,

I just love your explanation for your 1000 fold statement in a previous message. It seems that just because you have invented some "fact" about Washington lobbyists you can apply this to every western government around the world, amazing! Where is your evidence? Don't just give us self righteous prattle, it is misinformed and takes credence away from your previous argument which is a shame because some of the points you made have validity.

 

[H2Andy]

Dear H2Andy,

...

Don't just give us self righteous prattle

and your credibility after that ad hominem attack is ... what....?

10 below zero?

:10:

should you be interested in the source of my "guess" instead of calling me names, you might want to check out the profits made by ex-US Representative Randy Cunningham. the figure comes from his usual exchange of campaign contributions v. public moneys received by the interests spoused by the contributor, as i stated. also, look at the ethanol subsidies, and you'll end up with the same ratio.