julian_w
Joined: 08 Sep 2003
Location: Somewhere beyond Middle Peak Hotel, north of Middle Earth, and well away from the Middle of the Road
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 Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 3:11 pm Post subject: Want something to do this weekend ? |
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Go to Ulsan 4 a whale of a time!
This weekend is perfect to visit the Whale Embassy in Ulsan.
Only an hour up the road from Pusan, a trip to the current whaling epi-centre of the planet is a chance to participate in world history being made, and to contribute to the global environmental effort, all in one easy visit!
In Ulsan to support the whale-watching lobby are representatives from the Korean environmentalist group KFEM, and Greenpeace representatives from around the world. They are staffing the Whale Embassy for the duration of the IWC meeting - the International Whaling Commission - in an effort to draw world media attention to the dangers of continued whaling, and to help locals realise the greater economic benefits of the whale-watching industry to a developing tourism industry.
The IWC is going until June 24th, and this year sees a major showdown between the two factions within the commission: the whale-watchers (Australia, New Zealand and many others) versus the whale-eaters. The latter include Japan, Korea, Norway, and a collection of land-locked, third world countries that Japan has bought off with aid, as long as they sign up to the IWC and support Japan's 'right' to continue murdering whales - whether established endangered species or otherwise.
As a result of Japan��s stacking the commission with dependent developing countries, the whale-killers could now have the balance of power. Japan has already recently threatened to dramatically increase its self-allotted quota of annual whale-kills, although it currently is whaling under the flimsy pretense of 'scientific research'.
There is a small group of esl teachers who are staffing free English language lessons for Korean children who turn up to the Whale Embassy in the weekends, particularly on Saturday afternoons.
Find out more about the IWC meeting here:
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200505/kt2005052716171311990.htm
Find out more about the Whale Embassy here:
http://weblog.greenpeace.org/koreawhales/ |
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