Well, well, well. Japan failed to seize the majority at the International Whaling Commission for at least one more year. No secret ballots. No scuppering the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. No kicking Greenpeace out. And, predictably, the Guardian reports the usual sour grapes threat: “Japan threatens to leave IWC”
There are 255 hits on Google for the phrase [“Japan Threatens to leave” + IWC] some dating back to 1999. They drag out the same damn press release every time they lose, claiming that the IWC has been hijacked by conservation interests and no longer appears interested in the real business of responsible, sustainable whale resource management making some Yen off of the killing of whales.
Next year may be different. The anti-whaling forces are going to have to work pretty hard to widen that 3-vote gap between an IWC that sides with right-thinking whale protectors worldwide, and an IWC that endorses wholesale slaughter.
The cartoon above was part of a New Yorker caption contest a couple weeks back. The wonky in-joke caption I’d scribble today: “I don’t think the insurance will cover the damage, dear. But we could always apply for Japanese Fisheries Aid.”
Well if they pressed the wrong button hopefully they are not in charge of missiles and nuclear weapons!
Accident? What utter crap! Can they read?
A bottle of champagne is needed right now … but also I don’t want to sound bitter according to my daily paper the Swedish delegate said that some nations did cast their votes to the anti-whaling camp accidentally, hmmm.…
there’s a 3 vote gap — but it’s actually a gap represented by 440 million people — yet all Japan has to do is buy enough votes from tiny islands to gain the “majority”.
what a joke!