Archive - 2011

*Update Dec. 31, 2011* Indeed odd: 7 Japanese ships seem not interested in whales but - "Japanese government security ship Shonan Maru #2 continues to tail the Steve Irwin and the Brigitte Bardot" on their way back to port for repairs. Now the Bob Barker is alone at the mercy of the other 6 Japanese ships with armed coast guards continuously moving eastward (to where?), far from any rescue/backup as the Bob Barker, on January 6'2010, rescued Ady Gil's 6 crew who were nearly killed when the Ady Gil was suddenly sliced in two by a whaling ship.

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"Despite the suspension of the program this year, we of MAFF are determined to continue the program until it leads to the resumption of commercial whaling," senior vice minister Nobutaka Tsutsui said.

Takanarita, a widely experienced journalist, blogged his disappointment. Pro-whaling politicians had taken control, he said. It had become an expression of male pride: ''We can't give in to the likes of Sea Shepherd.''  read more »

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Tsunami Relief: Help People Not Whalers

To Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda:

We stand with the Japanese people in the ongoing disaster recovery and condemn the use of relief funds to promote the Japanese whaling industry. We demand the Japanese government immediately end all whaling subsidies and instead prioritize the immediate relocation and assistance of families still suffering in the aftermath of the nuclear disaster and tsunami.

Right now, the Japanese whaling fleet is barreling south to hunt thousands of majestic whales, escorted by a 30 million dollar security force paid for out of the tsunami disaster relief fund!

Anti-whaling champions were successfully blocking the Japanese whale hunt -- which is exactly why the Japanese government decided to swipe money from relief efforts to stop the ocean guardians from bothering the boats while they engage in their brutal slaughter.  read more »

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This Google Earth Tour, narrated by Dan Laffoley, Marine Vice Chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s World Commission on Protected Areas, follows the migrations of whales above and below the surface and visits some of the key marine protected areas and sanctuaries for whales around the world. Join the blue whale in the US national marine sanctuaries off California and journey to the proposed Costa Rica Dome Marine Protected Area in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, one of the key areas being proposed as part of the "Homes for Whales" project of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. Follow the humpbacks on migration, from their breeding grounds to the feeding areas in the North Atlantic around the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and visit one of the most recent protected areas, the Agoa Sanctuary in the French Caribbean. This animated Google Earth Tour was first presented as part of a keynote lecture by Dan Laffoley (IUCN) at the opening of the 2nd International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (ICMMPA) on 7 November 2011 in the Atrium, Fort-de-France, Martinique. It was prepared with the help of Jenifer Austin Foulkes (Google), Charlotte Vick (Sylvia Earle Alliance/Mission Blue) and Erich Hoyt (Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society/IUCN).

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"Setting a good example is a far better way to spread ideals than through force of arms." - Ron Paul

The thunderous applause for Paul rocked the bleachers and caused a crush of media to turn their cameras away from the stage in the middle of the gymnasium...Affable and clearly enjoying his celebrity status with the young voters, Paul said he was at somewhat of a loss to explain why his candidacy resonates so strongly with young voters.

“The common answer is that I endorse and defend the Constitution … and believe you only get permission to go to war with a vote of Congress, not NATO,” Paul said, his remarks cut short by applause.

*Update: Jan. 25, 2012*  read more »

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Astrophysicists find biggest black holes yet - two monsters, one of which may be about 20 billion times the mass of our sun, could provide important clues to the formation of galaxies.  read more »