stupidly busy today trying to get things together for the trip to cali, but i got pointed towards a news story involved the japanese whaling fleet and sea shephard and felt the need to say something.
what really angered me with this article, besides lending any sense of credibility to the whalers in this matter, is that once again cnn reports that the activists threw acid at the boat. it sounds really horrible, right? i mean.. acid! what kind of demented people are these activists?!
well, it's not at all what it sounds like. one of the tactics this particular group of activists employs is tossing containers of a substance called butyric acid at ships. i don't know how effective the tactic is, but butyric acid is what gives parmesan cheese that "dirty foot" odor and vomit its rather unpleasant smell. in concentrated form it gets really nasty smelling, but that's about it. the idea is to make the ship smell so bad that the crew, at least for the moment, turns away from the business of senseless and illegal slaughter. that's not exactly as horrible sounding as "they threw acid at us", so the whalers usually leave out the bit about how the substance used is a harmless, if bad smelling, naturally occuring substance that many of us eat willingly.
it's like accusing someone who puts lemon juice in your water of making you drink acid. it is factually correct, but a rather misleading statement.
the goal, of course, is to deflect attention away from the whaling itself, a legally dubious and morally questionable activity, and onto the people standing up for our planet by attempting to paint them as the actual evildoers.
unfortunately such lies and deception are part and parcel of the game for those who would pillage the oceans and inflict senseless horror shows of pain and suffering upon the creatures of this planet. i expect no better from them, but shame on cnn for aiding their campaign of misinformation with such shoddy journalism. =(
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Last summer - on a rainy day during my holidays, I took the time to watch news on CNN and I was shocked about the quality of their news. I don't want to say that TV news at home are so much better, but there were two things that really scared me:
- They used background music that is obviously intended to convey a certain mood.
- They showed a 30sec sequence of various incoherent terror attacks as soon as the words "islam" and "terror" were mentioned in the same sentence. (And that though there was a negation in between.)
So I guess people who watch such news often don't at all know what journalism is.
Sadly, I often feel it is a small, but growing, percentage of people who notice these things.
I recommend reading Derrick Jensen. In particular, his first book "A language older than words".
Vlad
more pew pew less QQ
I agree with you Aaron!
I'm from NZ and the vast majority of people here are very strongly against the whalers. I don't think the Japanese govt has any idea of how strong the opposition to their ships' activity is.
The good thing is that Australia has banned the ships from their waters, so NZ just needs to "get with the program" and do the same.
- Andy
*sigh* :(
...
*/who will tell the people
that we're living in these times?*/
Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd, are fools who value certain animals above others, like the human animal.
They're criminals, and they deserve what they get.
ph, and I agree the whalers are criminals too, so don't even bother with that ;)
Hey Aaron!
a short question: is there something planned like a "task-mode-switcher" for Plasma? If not, i would like to do this...
Image you could extend your plasma-menu and choose your task:
e.g.
Kiosk-Mode
Webdevelop-Mode
Afterwork-Mode
Fun-Mode
...
if you select one of this, the plasma-settings will change. So you can have different widgets with certain setting. A Plasma-Menu for example would have different programs in you favorites.
I am not a good coder - but with some instructions i would like to do this..
BR
R
@ramin:
As far as I know, that's what the "zoom" is for.
And no offense, but wasn't your post slightly off topic? ;)
Hi. I'm a Japanese reader. sorry for my poor english, But I want to point out some lines in this article is wrong.
Whaling is NOT legally dubious and NOT morally questionable activity. It admitted by International Whaling Commission. Selling whale meat is duty.
The kinds of whales Japanese Whalers taken are not extints. Their're even increasing numbers. Killing any animals are horrible, but It can't be blamed until all people become vegetarian. Seriously, most japanese people including me can't understand why whaling is so blamed.
So please, before blaming whaling, see also pro-whaling information (e.g. Wikipedia.) You can see many movies on youTube about killing animals for food. I hope they make change your mind.
That is what I want to say. (or something like it.)
By the way, KDE4 is great work! I enjoyed it. Go on, please. Many Thanks.
ok fine, but how about all humans killed every day and no one is speaking about them.
Butyric Acid is called a "weak acid" (pKa = 3.85) this means it had to be very concentrated to be as harmful as you magine. (I am sure there are some chemists who could correct me 100times).
The most harmful thing about it is that it smells bad.
I dont support such actions or anything. Its just that if the media hears "acid", it is hyped to much. Its not as bad as it looks in the first place.
PS: I really enjoy reading your blog
Congratulations on your KDE 4.0 Release Event Keynote Aaron, you are awesome :)
KDE 4 rocks! :D
Id love to get an explaination of how the japanese whaling activities are morally dubious.
They're killing an animal for food, just like people kill cows and chicken for food. The whales the japanes hunt are NOT threatened. Why in the world do whales need more protection than common livestock???
> They're killing an animal for
> food, just like people kill cows
> and chicken for food.
no they aren't. just as with the seal hunt in Canada, this is not "for food". remove this food source nobody goes hungry, nobody really adjusts their diet. it's 100% for the privelege on feasting on whale meat.
add to this that the manner of killing the animals is beyond inhumane. at "least" cattle are supposed to be disposed of humanely.
add to this that whales as a whole are genuinely intelligent: they teach their young customs and culture, they learn new behaviours on their own, they have complex social systems ... it's one thing to eat a worm, it's another thing to eat a sentient being. it's yet another to torture them first by piercing them through with large barbs and letting them bleed to death as a result.
> The whales
> the japanes hunt are NOT
> threatened.
not if the Japanese had their way. if they had their way we'd be hunting whatever we wanted, including into oblivion. as a nation they have no respect for other animals on this planet.
moreover their justifications are full of lies and half truths, including the "no whale was hunted into extinction" claim. that's a claim they can only make because scientists can't conclusively prove that some species absolutely did die directly from hunting versus die due to disease that wiped them out due to depleted stock due to hunting. proving ecological disasters 300 years distant is not easy from a scientific truth pov, something the japanese take advantage of here.
> Why in the world do whales need
> more protection than common
> livestock???
aside from the intelligence, wild status and actual threat on many species ... i agree. i don't eat meat and think farming, particularly factory farming, is repulsive and something we need to out-grow as a species.
i know you probably expected a bleeding heart liberal inconsistency here .. ;)
japan is leaving centuries ahead of america. they might not be perfect.. but continuing to accuse each others just increase the problem. lets fix our problems and if everybody does the same it will work out. there is nothing an english guy can do against japan. there are japanese activist you care about it. during CNN is keeping you busy with whats happening over there guys are blind about what is going on here... discusted.
i always do that mistake while typing ...
s/leaving/living/
@Mathieu: when it comes to our shared planetary resources, it is everybody's business. it is not within the rights of any single nation to do as they wish not matter what with our shared home.
as a practical counterpoint to your thoughts, consider the Canadian seal hunt. it's horrible. many of us in Canada have been working against it for *years* with very little improvement due to the politics and stupidity of the people involved with it.
but right now the seal hunt is very much threatened. not by Canadians, but by European countries passing bans on seal products. there are a couple more EU countries looking to pass this kind of ban at which point the seal hunt will likely go belly-up and cease to happen as there will be zero market left.
so yes, it can and does matter when people outside of a nation take interest in the matters of another.
as for Japan being centuries ahead of America, i'm Canadian, not American. and even then, it really hardly matters if one is significantly advanced in some ways. if national policy is retarded and backwards on a given issue, particularly one that affects the entire world, it should be addressed.
evil in one place is not made up for by virtue elsewhere.
Did you know that pigs are as intelligent, if not even more intelligent than dogs?
Where is the "SAVE THE PIGS CAMPAIGN"?
I respect that you are a vegetarian, and that you don't believe in killing animals, but holding whale hunting to a higher standard than pig slaughter is hypocrisy in my humble opinion.
Did you know that chicken are left locked up in a big hall after they hatch for 36 days, walking in their own excrement, without any kind of cleaning, daylight or fresh air, their feet melting away from the acidious waste they walk in, until they at last are picked up by a hook and carried to decapitation? Cows and pigs get solitude confinement in a booth they can barely turn around in, instead of having to stand knee deep in shit their whole life.
Now compare that to how whales live their whole lives in liberty in their natural habitat.
I seriously think that the whales have got the better deal.
Aaron J. Seigo said:
not if the Japanese had their way. if they had their way we'd be hunting whatever we wanted, including into oblivion. as a nation they have no respect for other animals on this planet.
So you are saying that the japanese are bad people because they want to hunt whales, but don't do it because there are international laws that prohibit them?
I must admit that there are a lot of bad things I feel like doing all the time, but don't do, because there are laws banning them. Am I a bad person?
@Sammi: yes, pigs are intelligent as well. but you're using the dog as a baseline here rather than whales which is, to be polite, a conversational convenience on your part.
but beyond that, there *are* campaigns to stop the slaughter of other animals. i've turned up to support those as well.
but here are a few differences:
* the pig farmers aren't standing behind a nation's story of heritage for what they do
* the pig farmers aren't claiming on CNN (and wherever else will grant them air time) that they are being splattered with "acid" when that's not the case
* the pig farmers aren't violating international treaties
the above three things are what really annoy me about the japanese whaling fleet. they are liars, they are breaking the law (and trying to disguise it behind a technicality) and are wasting the goodwill of others towards their nation with their dastardly behaviour.
as for the suffering incurred by other animals, i completely agree. it's *egregious* what factory farms do to chickens, pigs, cattle and other animals. fur farms are amazing spots of brutality as well. and yes, i'm quite aware of all the things you mentioned (as well as quite a bit more)
but just because there are many cases of brutality doesn't mean we shouldn't stand up to each one individually. that's sort of how you solve big problems.
i'd also note that the mechanism of killing whales is beyond inhumane. so it's not like it's a nice story of "they swim the oceans, then are quietly dispatched by the whalers".
i must say that this comment of yours really baffles me, though:
"So you are saying that the japanese are bad people because they want to hunt whales, but don't do it because there are international laws that prohibit them?"
no, i'm saying that the Japanese whalers, and those in their country who support them, are doing something very wrong because there are international laws that prohibit killing whales for food ... and they are doing it anyways!
so you rather completely missed the point: they are violating international treaties. they get away with it by lieing about what they are doing.
you can add Norway and Iceland to that list as well, though at "least" those countries are pretty honest about their violations.
i'd also note that Japan is the country *leading* the charge to overturn these laws and return the sea to open whaling at the International Whaling Commission. a number of other countries have lined up behind them, but Japan is the lead actor in that play.
btw, it would be a kindness on your part to not assume i'm the standard ignorant bleeding heart white liberal mouthpiece in this conversation. (those people bug me, too ;) my position is much more considered and informed than you seem to give me credit for. =)
but your second point ...
> * the pig farmers aren't claiming on CNN (and wherever else will grant them air time) that they are being splattered with "acid" when that's not the case
... takes for granted that CNN is able to properly translate japanese and to properly transmit information.
everything you read that is translated must be taken with a grain of salt. especially from foreign languages like that. but even french to english, perfect translation are rarely possible.
I understand there isn't so many fisherman in the prairies but you've got to admin that you have to be pretty geeky to know what the heck is butyric acid. (i mean,.. fisherman are no geek, and if I walk down 17th avenue south and throw white powder at people, what are they gonna say?)
now that CNN shorts it out to "acid" what the fuck that has to do with the whole thing and why do you have to blame an entire nation for that.
you could have simply wrote an article against whale killing.
now, that said. I definitly know aaron you are more informed than the standard white joe, but citing CNN or even reading it just ain't ... no comment.
@Mathieu:
"takes for granted that CNN is able to properly translate japanese "
not at all. you'll find the exact same claims on their own website. see here:
http://www.icrwhale.org/080115Release.htm
at the end of this press release it says: 'The two boarded the Yushin Maru No. 2 after they made attempts to entangle the screw of the vessel using ropes and throwing bottles of acid onto the decks.'
so this isn't CNN messing up a translation, this is the ICR's official statement. elsewhere on the site they do say "butyric acid", though. so they do know what's really going on.
"I understand there isn't so many fisherman in the prairies"
heh. i actually grew up in fishing communities. i was born on the Queen Charlottes, spent many years on the lower mainland coast of British Columbia and later lived in Hawaii.
i fished in all of those places, both as someone bringing food home for my own family as well as a guest on commercial vessels (crabbing, halibut, salmon, etc)
". fisherman are no geek,"
the Nisshin Maru is supposedly a scientific vessel and the ICR is supposedly a scientific research body. we are, at least supposedly, not dealing with average fisherman but whalers in the employ and under the direction of scientists.
i would expect that they would know what butyric acid is. in fact, if you go through ICR's website, you'll see that they do know what it is as they refer to them as "stink bombs" in other places in the site's text.
"and if I walk down 17th avenue south and throw white powder at people, what are they gonna say?)"
do it to the right local redneck and you'll get a beating, i'm sure. ;) at the very least the cops will arrive and settle it out.
but let's make it a bit more accurate: what would happen if you threw white powder at someone in the act of robbing a store in an attempt to stop the crime? because that is what's happening here, not random abuse of others.
"now that CNN shorts it out to "acid" what the fuck that has to do with the whole thing"
because, as i've explained a few times now, it is a clear demonstration of the ICR's willingness to misrepresent the actions of those who are trying to stop their illegal behaviour in order to discredit them.
"and why do you have to blame an entire nation for that."
let me quote again from their website:
'The Institute of Cetacean Research (I.C.R.), a unique organization in Japan specializing in the biological and social sciences related to whales, came into being in October 1987. It is a nonprofit research organization whose legal status is authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Government of Japan, as a foundational judicial person.'
you can read it for yourself here: http://www.icrwhale.org/abouticr.htm
as you can see, this is a group that is recognized by their national government. additionally, i get emails from random Japanese nationals defending the actions and attitudes of the ICR. it is very much a cultural issue, and as such i do hold the country's government and its society as being complicit.
just as i hold Canada complicit in the seal hunt that happens on my own (Canadian) soil.
dude ....
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/affairs/crime/080122/crm0801221723028-n1.htm
日本の調査捕鯨をめぐっては、反捕鯨を掲げるアメリカの環境保護団体「シーシェパード」が今月１５日、「第２勇新丸」にワイヤをからませ、不法に乗船してきたメンバー２人を、日本側が一時拘束。１８日には「第３勇新丸」に対し、酪酸の入ったビンを投げつける妨害行為を行った。
酪酸 = butyric acid
and that's MSN...
japanese people are getting the proper information.
you go to alberta goverment and ask them to properly shut down their hydrogen sulfur shit
dans les dents.
@Mathieu:
"japanese people are getting the proper information."
and how does that change what is on the ICR's website? or what they told CNN? yeah, it doesn't.
i already mentioned that in some places on the ICR's website they say butyric acid. however, in certain key places (e.g. some of their press releases) they don't.
"you go to alberta goverment and ask them to properly shut down their hydrogen sulfur shit"
slo because i'm not saving everything in the world all the time simultaneously, i can therefore not comment on anything?
this is absurdity at its worst and exactly why so many people do NOTHING in life: people like you give them only an all-or-nothing set of choices.
you should be *happy* people are trying to improve the world, one thing at a time, around you.
Do nothing is better than do something evil.
Yes, hunting wild whale is cruel. but Hunting wild life (boar, bird, buffalo, etc) is very very popular in ``your'' countries, Canada, U.S., U.K. and Australia. I respect you are vegetarian, but, please don't blame japanese just because you can't blame neighbours. that's great hypocrisy.
You are free to say whaling is unpleasant. But STOP recommend VIOLENCE. Japanese government attends to all IWC Conferences (differ from Iceland and Norway.) And their whaling is approved by many pro-whaling countries' voting. Whaling is NOT violating any international treaties. So please stop ignoring democracy and international collaborates. Ignoring them makes 9/11 and Iraq invasion. Both are definitely more horrible than killing whales (if you thought Iraqi people's life is more worth than the animal's.)
Improving the world is good. but I wish it would not be wrong direction.
Sorry.
One more thing: In contrary to your comment, Majority of canadian admits their responsible seal hunts.
See: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/seal-phoque/myth_e.htm (Myth#9)
It reflects on restarting seal hunts in Canada. Right decision.
related link which might be of interest as well.
http://whatjapanthinks.com/2008/01/24/the-history-of-whaling-in-japan/
Sorry, comlement my last post. "Whaling" => "Japanese Scientific Whaling".
Beliveing or not, there're tons of scientific paperes on Mink and Sei whales by Japanese researchers. if this is not a scientific, what is science?
"but Hunting wild life (boar, bird, buffalo, etc) is very very popular in ``your'' countries,"
i *completely* agree. i'm consistent on this matter, and just because some people do hunt here doesn't make whaling in any way better.
it's like saying "well, i did X wrong, but someone over there did Y wrong, so i'm not guilty." see how that doesn't make any sense?
"But STOP recommend VIOLENCE."
first, i would recommend your country to take your advice and stop recommending the violence against whales.
moreover, you'll note that sea shephard has NEVER hurt a person. not once. so your claim of violence is, once again, a typical distortion of the situation by those who are pro-whaling.
"Whaling is NOT violating any international treaties."
if the ICR was honest about why it was whaling, their activities would be illegal. well, they are illegal, the ICR is just lieing about what they are doing. it's not scientific research, it's whale meat for the food industry first and foremost.
even look at the company who started the ICR and their history. it's not about science.
"Ignoring them makes 9/11 and Iraq invasion. Both are definitely more horrible than killing whales"
a) you have the wrong country. i'm in Canada, not the USA. how would you like it if i kept confusing Japan with Korea, hm?
b) again, you can't dismiss one horror by stating that there is another horror.
i too think 9/11 and Iraq are horrid events that probably could've been prevented if people were more humane and open. in fact, i'd suggest that a world where it's just fine to go poke wholes in intelligent animals with great huge spears is the exact sort of world where people head into senseless wars.
it's all connected.
"Majority of canadian admits their responsible seal hunts."
i'm sorry, but i've seen the documentary evidence and that page is as much full of half truths and lies as the ICR's website.
yes, i'm ashamed that this happens in my country. and i take responsibility for it as a Canadian and add my efforts in working against this heinous slaughter as well.
see, consistent.
I think you are not consistent. You just forgot unpleasant side of things.
I suppose you become a vegetarian because you thought it's good in general (otherwise, it's just personal hobby.) I suppose you have a good reason to convince people not to kill. If you could success to convince people (even just only your neighbors), Most of hunting/whaling would quickly decease all over the world. What you have to do is proving this: no meat improves our world. But still now, I can falsify it. Sadly, Eating other life brings us great interests. It makes us strong, healthy, humane and wise. Eating meat makes European people can live in other continents. It is basically good, isn't it? Killing is always horrible, but we shouldn't choose all/nothing strategy, we choose to eat some meat. Q.E.D.
I want to say X == Y in your last saying. Because whale is one of wild lives. I admit whales are great, cute, highly intelligent ..., but they are just animals. "just animals" doesn't mean It's ok to kill'em up until extinction or kill'em with unnecessary pain. If we knew unintelligent worms were in danger, we'd have to save them as possible.
Whale is just animal. For example, Norwegian Qt developer would agree it if you asked. (Norway is now a commercial whaling country. They quitted IWC. So no one can stop them to kill endangered or not-endangered whales. It's not illegal or even dubious. I believe they will do their best.)
Anyway, what I intended to say is: "well, you say X wrong, but everyone from our side to your side except you did X right, so i'm not guilty." I hope you'll get the sense.
But, we have a freedom of speech. anti-whaling claim is not wrong itself (I can easily object it.) But recommending violence can't be allowed. Yes, Seashpard doesn't hurt anyone currently. But they attacked whaler's ship by their ship, they threw cans with chemistry which easily changes real "acid", they made the video killing a Japanese against Whaling: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbRoCFlNfkQ . It can't be called violence until first blood flows?
It's like saying: "protecting software freedom is good, so cracking MS Windows/Office is good." Former part of this sentence is completely right, but latter is apocalyptic. You are the Savour of software freedom. That's why I'm sticking this article.
> but i've seen the documentary evidence and that page is as much full of half truths and lies as the ICR's website.<
A man who says "i'm right because i'm right" and democratic government's agency shows investigation and its resources, Which one is believable?
Sorry for long lines and my poor English, but I think they're necessary. Many Thanks.
Butyric acid is far more toxic than you imagine. Two Japanese sailors were injured by the Sea Shepherd's attack.
According to the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for butyric acid, acute dermal toxicity (LD50) of butyric acid is 530 mg/kg [rabbit], which roughly means you can kill a rabbit that weigh 1 kg by administering 0.53 g of the substance onto the skin. The amount of butyric acid in a bottle that Sea Shepherd threw onto the Japanese ship was enough to kill more than several people. They threw 12 bottles in the attack.
MSDS says that butyric acid is readily absorbed through the skin and then degraded into other substances and that the biodegradation products are more toxic than butyric acid itself. The toxicity of butyric acid seems to be conferred by the toxicity of the biodegradation products rather than its acidity.
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