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stevemcgarrett
Joined: 24 Mar 2006
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 Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 2:21 am Post subject: CAN THE WORLD CIRCUMVENT THE JAPANESE WHALING INDUSTRY? |
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Can the means be found to stymie the Japanese whaling industry in the foreseeable future or must we continue to endure the senseless annual slaughter?
Anyone who's taken more than a glance at this forum knows that I'm no Greenpeace or PETA fanatic, but it galls me to no end to read what the Japanese government is doing to protect its cherished culinary tradition.
As many here know, Japan continues to exploit the 1986 global whaling moratorium by conducting "lethal research" on upwards of a thousand hapless whales each year in the Antarctic seas. Of course, the Japanese have a long history of lethal research, beginning with Korean and Chinese POWs after the invasion of Manchuria in 1931. But that's another sordid story.
The Japanese Ambassador to Australia was quoted as saying:
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| Japan's position is that this is research based on science and is a completely legal activity. |
Yes, well, that's what sleazy defense attorneys like to claim too. And then this precious little afterthought:
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| What's important is to handle this issue without getting emotional. |
Heaven forbid we in the West should get all worked up over a bunch of oversized sea-going mammals. Let's be calm and collective about this matter. After all, the days of "Banzai!" are long past.
And then to make a farce of the situation, he justified Japanese fleet radio silence out of concern for the safety of the crews. Ah, yes, those savage apes from the West will do anything to shield Willy and Wanda.
Leave it to the Japanese to make a lie of an obvious lie. Once again the Asian concern for saving face takes precedence over any moral code of conduct. (And, yes, I do believe that in general Asians will lie to your face without a so much as a twinge of guilt if so doing prevents them from being exposed. Of course, what they discount is the Western notion that in the act of blatantly lying in public one has already lost one's face).
So what should or can be done to stop this senseless slaughter? |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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| Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 2:29 am Post subject: |
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I agree Steve. I'm not sure what can be done to stop it though. My feeling is that individual nations tend to do whatever they want to for the most part and tell the rest of the world to go to hell. The US and China have done a poor job on global warming blaming each other for inaction.
The larger nations like the US and China need to start leading the way on these issues. |
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pesawattahi
Joined: 30 Sep 2007
Location: it rubs the lotion on it's skin or else it gets the hose again
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| Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 2:37 am Post subject: |
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| Why not let them hunt the whales? It was the whaling industry of the 1800's that drove them to the point of extinction, harvesting whales merely for their oil and not their meat. We allow natives in the U.S. to hunt whales as well as Norway and Iceland. Why not Japan who relies upon the sea for much of their protein? Many wild animals can be harvested if managed correctly which it seems the Japanese are doing. They even backed down on the hunt of the humpbacks and are only continueing the hunt on a more plentiful species. |
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Nowhere Man
Joined: 08 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 5:08 am Post subject: ... |
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| CIRCUMVENT? |
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Czarjorge
Joined: 01 May 2007
Location: I now have the same moustache, and it is glorious.
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| Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 12:29 am Post subject: |
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| It would take the UN appointing a force to "protect" the whales, the presence of which might cause unforseen problems for the whales. It seems far fetched, but more likely than sanctions against one of the world's largest economies. Aside from that the US wouldn't want to open that door, lots of people around the world think Bush and some of his staf are war criminals and we're not going to let them rake us through the coals for whales. |
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bacasper
Joined: 26 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 4:09 am Post subject: Re: CAN THE WORLD CIRCUMVENT THE JAPANESE WHALING INDUSTRY? |
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| stevemcgarrett wrote: |
| Can the means be found to stymie the Japanese whaling industry in the foreseeable future or must we continue to endure the senseless annual slaughter? |
I don't know what can be realistically done. Other countries would have to pressure Japan in the form of sanctions or trade penalties but I think getting such enacted is a long shot. I supposed you could organize a boycott of Japanese goods while pressuring representatives to enact legislation penalizing Japan, but I am afraid that most people think we have bigger fish to fry. (Oops, sorry, you know what I mean.) |
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