Japanese Client States Set to Overturn Whaling Ban

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Incendiary Lemon
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Japanese Client States Set to Overturn Whaling Ban

Post by Incendiary Lemon »

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In a remarkable diplomatic coup, Japan, the leading pro-whaling nation, is poised to seize control of whaling's regulatory body, the International Whaling Commission (IWC), and so hasten the return of commercial whale hunting, which has been officially banned worldwide for the past 20 years.
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Post by LawBeefaroni »

Meanwhile we (and everyone else) are wiping out tuna which is a vastly underrated fish, ecology-wise. That certain cultures don't regard whales as giant swimming humans shouldn't be suprising.

Personally I don't see the need for whaling (we have oil) and don't approve of it. Resumption of full scale whaling would be disturbing but eh, just another rape of the ocean. Besides, we're driving them insane with ULFs/ELFs pinging around the world's seas.
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Post by Dirt »

All we need to do is get about 10,000 dna samples for genetic diversity and start cloning them.
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Post by Tareeq »

Dirt wrote:All we need to do is get about 10,000 dna samples for genetic diversity and start cloning them.
Cute. Each egg would require a female whale for implantation and gestation.

I'm sure there's a clever reference to the Rape of Nanjing in there somewhere, if we think long and hard about it.
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Post by Dirt »

Tareeq wrote:
Dirt wrote:All we need to do is get about 10,000 dna samples for genetic diversity and start cloning them.
Cute. Each egg would require a female whale for implantation and gestation.

I'm sure there's a clever reference to the Rape of Nanjing in there somewhere, if we think long and hard about it.
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Post by SuperHiro »

Hasn't Japan been hunting whales for "research purposes" in blatant violation of the ban for years already?
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Post by Enough »

SuperHiro wrote:Hasn't Japan been hunting whales for "research purposes" in blatant violation of the ban for years already?
Not on the scale they would like.
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Post by Ralph-Wiggum »

Interestingly, there was a report on NPR recently about how whale meat no longer sells well in Japan. A couple of decades ago, a large part of the Japanese diet consisted of whale meat, but now the vast majority of young people won't buy it and prefer to eat other meats. So even most of the limited whale meat that is on the Japanese market now is usually not sold and ends up frozen. Despite this trend, the government is still trying to revive what they consider is a fading cultural tradition; some schools have even gone so far as serving whale as the only meat during certain lunches.
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Post by Peacedog »

ralph wiggum wrote:Despite this trend, the government is still trying to revive what they consider is a fading cultural tradition; some schools have even gone so far as serving whale as the only meat during certain lunches.
It's always nice to get reminded the rest of the world is as ridiculous as we are.
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Post by tcweidner »

Obviously the Japanese don't watch nor learn from Star Trek Movies.

We should nuke em, oh right, we did.
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Post by Incendiary Lemon »

tcweidner wrote:We should nuke em, oh right, we did.
Not from orbit :twisted:
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Post by yossar »

LawBeefaroni wrote:Personally I don't see the need for whaling (we have oil) and don't approve of it.
Because imitation whale sandwiches just aren't as good as the real thing. If vegetarian propaganda can be believed, there's no "need" for eating any kind of meat.
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Post by Ralph-Wiggum »

yossar wrote:
LawBeefaroni wrote:Personally I don't see the need for whaling (we have oil) and don't approve of it.
Because imitation whale sandwiches just aren't as good as the real thing. If vegetarian propaganda can be believed, there's no "need" for eating any kind of meat.
But it's one thing to eat chicken and cows when they reproduce quickly and abundantly and the world is full of them. It's quite another thing to hunt a struggling species that plays an important part in the ecosystem and would have a hard time ever recovering due to their slow reproductive cycles (for example, it takes minke whales between 6-8 years to reach sexual maturity).
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Post by ChrisGwinn »

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:Interestingly, there was a report on NPR recently about how whale meat no longer sells well in Japan. A couple of decades ago, a large part of the Japanese diet consisted of whale meat, but now the vast majority of young people won't buy it and prefer to eat other meats. So even most of the limited whale meat that is on the Japanese market now is usually not sold and ends up frozen. Despite this trend, the government is still trying to revive what they consider is a fading cultural tradition; some schools have even gone so far as serving whale as the only meat during certain lunches.
I wouldn't be at all shocked if I was told my school lunches had been whale. They certainly weren't meats I recognized
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Post by Mr. Sparkle »

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:
yossar wrote:
LawBeefaroni wrote:Personally I don't see the need for whaling (we have oil) and don't approve of it.
Because imitation whale sandwiches just aren't as good as the real thing. If vegetarian propaganda can be believed, there's no "need" for eating any kind of meat.
But it's one thing to eat chicken and cows when they reproduce quickly and abundantly and the world is full of them. It's quite another thing to hunt a struggling species that plays an important part in the ecosystem and would have a hard time ever recovering due to their slow reproductive cycles (for example, it takes minke whales between 6-8 years to reach sexual maturity).
Minke whales aren't in any way endangered however... of course that's 'cuz nobody was after them until they killed all the other whales.
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Post by Defiant »

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: But it's one thing to eat chicken and cows when they reproduce quickly and abundantly and the world is full of them. It's quite another thing to hunt a struggling species that plays an important part in the ecosystem and would have a hard time ever recovering due to their slow reproductive cycles (for example, it takes minke whales between 6-8 years to reach sexual maturity).
If 6-8 years is slow, then it's never stopped us from reproducing quickly.

One wonders if one of the reason the world is full of cows and chickens is that they've been domesticated for food.

Whale farms, anyone? :wink:
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Post by Gryndyl »

ChrisGwinn wrote:
Ralph-Wiggum wrote:Interestingly, there was a report on NPR recently about how whale meat no longer sells well in Japan. A couple of decades ago, a large part of the Japanese diet consisted of whale meat, but now the vast majority of young people won't buy it and prefer to eat other meats. So even most of the limited whale meat that is on the Japanese market now is usually not sold and ends up frozen. Despite this trend, the government is still trying to revive what they consider is a fading cultural tradition; some schools have even gone so far as serving whale as the only meat during certain lunches.
I wouldn't be at all shocked if I was told my school lunches had been whale. They certainly weren't meats I recognized
I kid you not, whale meat tastes like extremely rancid corned beef. Absolutely vile, vile stuff.
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Post by UsulofDoom »

Less whales mean more and cheaper fried calamari ! [Homer]MMmmm... Calamari[\Homer] :D

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Post by The Preacher »

Nade wrote:If 6-8 years is slow, then it's never stopped us from reproducing quickly.
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Post by McNutt »

This sounds like a resurgence of the Bushido code. Soon they'll be preparing for war. Of course there's a chance that they'll mistake Pershing missiles for whale dicks.

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Post by Kraken »

Has anyone here ever eaten whale? I mean, if it tastes good....
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Post by Gryndyl »

Ironrod wrote:Has anyone here ever eaten whale? I mean, if it tastes good....
Yes, and no, it doesn't. Possibly the worst taste I've ever encountered. It was a struggle not to vomit.
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Re: Japanese Client States Set to Overturn Whaling Ban

Post by Isgrimnur »

ICJ to Japan: Knock it off
The International Court of Justice ruled Monday that Japan can no longer continue its annual whale hunt, rejecting the country's argument that it was for scientific purposes.

"Japan shall revoke any extant authorization, permit or license granted in relation to JARPA II, and refrain from granting any further permits in pursuance of that program," the court said, referring to the research program.

The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.
...
The Australian government challenged the Japanese whaling program in the International Court of Justice, leading to Monday's ruling.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Post by Herman Hum »

Gryndyl wrote:
Ironrod wrote:Has anyone here ever eaten whale? I mean, if it tastes good....
Yes, and no, it doesn't. Possibly the worst taste I've ever encountered. It was a struggle not to vomit.
I've tried it. It wasn't too bad. Expensive as heck, though.
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Re: Japanese Client States Set to Overturn Whaling Ban

Post by Arcanis »

Holy thread necromancy batman. I was reading this wondering if would cause them to start cranking out Whale Wars shows again and then I saw a U2K avatar and realized something was off.
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Re: Japanese Client States Set to Overturn Whaling Ban

Post by Isgrimnur »

If there's a thread, and "new shit has come to light," I try to preserve the links to historical discussions.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Japanese Client States Set to Overturn Whaling Ban

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I appreciate it! I had totally forgotten about the previous events.
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Re: Japanese Client States Set to Overturn Whaling Ban

Post by Isgrimnur »

NBC News
Five small Japanese whaling ships set sail for the first time in more than three decades Monday following that country's controversial decision to resume the hunt for the huge marine mammal.
...
The ships will spend much of the summer hunting for minke and Baird's beaked whales, Reuters reported.

Neither species is listed as endangered or threatened in the U.S. by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Japan last year announced its withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission (IWC), an international organization that deals with whale conservation and management of whaling, in a move that sparked global condemnation.
...
Norway and Iceland also openly defy the international ban, while an exemption allows indigenous communities in places like Greenland and Alaska to hunt whales.

The World Wide Fund for Nature estimates nearly 32,000 whales have been killed by whaling since the moratorium was imposed.
...
Japan has long maintained that eating whale is an important part of its culture and that most species are not endangered.

It said the commercial hunts will be limited to Japan's territorial waters and its 200-mile exclusive economic zone. However, it promised to stop its annual whaling expeditions to the Antarctic and northwest Pacific oceans.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Post by Grifman »

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: Mon Apr 17, 2006 7:45 pm Interestingly, there was a report on NPR recently about how whale meat no longer sells well in Japan. A couple of decades ago, a large part of the Japanese diet consisted of whale meat, but now the vast majority of young people won't buy it and prefer to eat other meats. So even most of the limited whale meat that is on the Japanese market now is usually not sold and ends up frozen. Despite this trend, the government is still trying to revive what they consider is a fading cultural tradition; some schools have even gone so far as serving whale as the only meat during certain lunches.
Yeah, it's really crazy. This isn't something that the Japanese public is really demanding - that the govt there keeps insisting on this doesn't make much sense to me.
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Post by malchior »

Grifman wrote: Tue Jul 02, 2019 10:37 am
Ralph-Wiggum wrote: Mon Apr 17, 2006 7:45 pm Interestingly, there was a report on NPR recently about how whale meat no longer sells well in Japan. A couple of decades ago, a large part of the Japanese diet consisted of whale meat, but now the vast majority of young people won't buy it and prefer to eat other meats. So even most of the limited whale meat that is on the Japanese market now is usually not sold and ends up frozen. Despite this trend, the government is still trying to revive what they consider is a fading cultural tradition; some schools have even gone so far as serving whale as the only meat during certain lunches.
Yeah, it's really crazy. This isn't something that the Japanese public is really demanding - that the govt there keeps insisting on this doesn't make much sense to me.
Much like the US - the power base belongs to wealthy (mostly male) traditionalists.
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Re: Japanese Client States Set to Overturn Whaling Ban

Post by Holman »

If steers were discovered to be able to talk and write poetry, there would still be a strata of American consumer culture that would demand steak.
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Re: Japanese Client States Set to Overturn Whaling Ban

Post by hepcat »

I'll be honest, it would have to be Walt Whitman level poetry for me to give up T-Bones.
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Re: Japanese Client States Set to Overturn Whaling Ban

Post by El Guapo »

How does Japan plan to deal with the giant satellite that will take orbit around Earth in a couple hundred years and try to communicate with Earth's whales?
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Re: Japanese Client States Set to Overturn Whaling Ban

Post by hepcat »

I'm assuming they've already asked Shatner to handle it.
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Re: Japanese Client States Set to Overturn Whaling Ban

Post by El Guapo »

I suppose the need for active conservation efforts is less if we can just go back in time to get whales if we need them later.
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Re: Japanese Client States Set to Overturn Whaling Ban

Post by Isgrimnur »

Newsweek
For the first time in 17 years, there will be no commercial whaling in Iceland after the sole company certified to hunt whales failed to renew its license in time.

Hvalur hf, started in 1948, will not be hunting the endangered fin whale or the more common minke whale for the remainder of the year, according to the Reykjavik Grapevine. The company, which exports most of its product to Japan, cited a shrinking appetite for whale meat as the reason for foregoing the hunt.
...
Gunnar Bergmann Jónsson, CEO of whaling company IP Útgerð, says he will focus on sea cucumber instead, and import minke whale meat from Norway to meet what little demand remains. He predicted his company would resume hunting for minke in spring 2020.
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