Taco Cowboy writes:
United Nations judges have ordered Japan to end whale hunts in the Antarctic after dismissing Japanese arguments that the hunting was carried out for scientific research purposes.
"Japan shall revoke any existant authorization, permit or licence granted in relation to JARPA II (research programme) and refrain from granting any further permits," said the International Court of Justice's judge Peter Tomka.
In 1982, the International Whaling Commission adopted a moratorium on commercial whaling, allowing the taking and killing of whales for research purposes only. Scientific catch limits are set by each country on a yearly basis, submitted to a review by the IWC's scientific committee.
Anti-whaling critics say that Japanese whale research is a fig leaf for commercial hunting, as whale meat can be sold to cover research costs. Japan counters that its whale meat sale is not profitable, and that it needs to take and kill whales to study the animals and their potential as a food source.
"The evidence does not establish that the programme's design and implementation are reasonable in relation to its stated objectives," the court said.
(Score: 0) by SpockLogic on Monday March 31 2014, @08:56PM
Good.
Overreacting is one thing, sticking your head up your ass hoping the problem goes away is another - edIII
(Score: 5, Informative) by VLM on Monday March 31 2014, @09:28PM
You can get the history here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaling_in_Japan#Inte rnational_Court_of_Justice_.28ICJ.29_proceedings [wikipedia.org]
Looks like the good guys we can thank are the Australians, like usual its not the Americans.
The whole situation is pretty screwed up display of central government control of an economy. Basically whaler's gotta whale to make their bucks, but the meat is so contaminated with mercury that people aren't supposed to eat it. Now combine that corruption with even more corruption where they signed a voluntary treaty and then pretty much said "just kidding about that" and went right no doing what they were doing, which is kind of scummy. So its hard to feel sad for the Japanese losing.
One interesting long term geopolitical trend is whaling was a big deal before petroleum wells, and its going to be a big deal again after petroleum wells. Arthur Clarke's Deep Range is likely our future, assuming we can avoid turning the oceans into giant toxic organomercury compound puddles.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday March 31 2014, @10:10PM
FYI, it's just in Antarctica. They can still go "legally" whaling elsewhere, but the text of the judgement makes it really hard to justify anywhere.
There isn't even demand for the whale meat in Japan. It's "traditional" or political, not useful.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Tork on Monday March 31 2014, @11:46PM
We're jerks when we stick our noses in, we're jerks when we don't.
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 01 2014, @12:31AM
Yes, but that's your fault.
(Score: 1) by tftp on Tuesday April 01 2014, @01:16AM
We're jerks when we stick our noses in, we're jerks when we don't.
The trick is, of course, to choose the battles very carefully.
(Score: 2) by wantkitteh on Tuesday April 01 2014, @08:31AM
The 9th Circuit Court sided with the whalers on appeal after putting in place an injunction against the anti-whaling activist group Sea Shepherd USA, preventing them from approaching the whaling ships. Not that it really changed much, the protesters simply switched control of the campaign to Sea Shepherd AU and continued under a different leader.
So actually, the US were active jerks on this one. It may not have been effective jerkish behaviour, but it's the thought that counts.
(Score: 1) by Rune of Doom on Tuesday April 01 2014, @01:37AM
Acidic organomercury compound puddles. :(
(Score: 2, Interesting) by e_armadillo on Monday March 31 2014, @10:00PM
. . . and that it needs to take and kill whales to study the animals and their potential as a food source.
Isn't the food value of whale already established? This argument seems very weak, and I would think that a search for alternative food sources would be a better focus of energy.
"How are we gonna get out of here?" ... "We'll dig our way out!" ... "No, no, dig UP stupid!"
(Score: 2) by randmcnatt on Monday March 31 2014, @10:26PM
I'm almost ashamed to say that line made me think of Iron Chef (obligatory Wikipedia link [wikipedia.org]).
The Wright brothers were not the first to fly: they were the first to land.
(Score: 3, Informative) by keplr on Tuesday April 01 2014, @12:48AM
Every time they get pushed on the issue they drop the pretext that it's about science and start talking about "cultural differences". Their culture values whale meat, doesn't extend humane considerations to whales like other countries do, and they aren't very ecologically forward thinking.
We have this image of Japan being a futuristic high-tech society of technocrats, but they're actually very backwards in a lot of ways. Left to themselves, they'd gladly hunt whales right down to the very last one. They're doing the same thing to tuna.
I don't respond to ACs.
(Score: 1) by xushi on Monday March 31 2014, @10:33PM
How disappointing if it were a fools April joke :)
(Score: 3, Funny) by jimshatt on Monday March 31 2014, @11:13PM
"Chomp, chomp, yeah we've stopped, we're just studying them as a food source, chomp chomp."
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 31 2014, @11:25PM
I was in a bar Saturday night, and had a few drinks.
I noticed two large women by the bar. They both had strong accents so I asked, "Hey, are you two ladies from Ireland?"
One of them screamed, "It's Wales you idiot!"
So, I immediately apologized and said, "Sorry, are you two whales from Ireland?"
That's all I remember.
#
the only trouble with watching dune is every time I see that guy I expect him to pull out a palm pilot like thing saying "Ziggy says theres a 45.2 percent chance that you're here to save the whales"
(Score: 2) by Covalent on Monday March 31 2014, @11:37PM
Why does Japan insist on hunting now-inedible animals (the aforementioned mercury) in violation of a treaty it voluntarily signed? Is it just national bravado?
You can't rationally argue somebody out of a position they didn't rationally get into.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by e_armadillo on Monday March 31 2014, @11:44PM
Your sig addresses this perfectly.
"How are we gonna get out of here?" ... "We'll dig our way out!" ... "No, no, dig UP stupid!"
(Score: 2) by Covalent on Wednesday April 02 2014, @02:20AM
True. True.
You can't rationally argue somebody out of a position they didn't rationally get into.
(Score: 2) by Foobar Bazbot on Tuesday April 01 2014, @12:06AM
Because the alternative is shutting down the whalers.
And the difference between whalers and buggy-whip makers is that a mob armed with buggy whips is a lot less intimidating than a mob armed with harpoons.
(Score: 2, Funny) by bill_mcgonigle on Tuesday April 01 2014, @03:32AM
Why does Japan insist on hunting now-inedible animals
Japan doesn't - very very few Japanese are involved in the whale hunt in any way (a statistician might argue none are, within error bars).
A few Japanese people are, and some bureaucrats are complicit. Also, fuck those guys with a Klingon warbird.
(Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Tuesday April 01 2014, @08:58AM
Klingon Warbird is too quick and painless...A Klingon Bat'leth however....
Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
(Score: 1) by iWantToKeepAnon on Tuesday April 01 2014, @12:53PM
I'd rather see effort to halt the dolphin slaughter ... not that the whales deserve any less tho.
japan-dolphin-hunt [cnn.com]
dolphin+slaughter+in+japan (images) [startpage.com]
"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." -- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy