It is one thing to promote on the web, television and cable that your organization cares about the environment and does its part to educate and save marine life. It’s another to put trainers at risk and cage intelligent marine creatures. And another to forcefully inseminate those same creatures to produce offspring for more “circus acts”.

You have to wonder, how many millions of dollars Seaworld invests in local, state and governmental agencies to be allowed to carry on the circus.

And when I call it circus, it is mere amusement for profit, no matter how “glitzty” you dress it up.

But let’s look at it in a different way. Does Seaworld really educate the masses about marine life and whales? Does one really see the marine environment as it truly exists? And if Seaworld were truly on the bandwagon to save and protect the marine environment, why hasn’t Seaworld come out and condemn those countries that hunt whales and slaughter the marine environment?

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Yogi Berra has written a book on his famous "yogi-isms" including the one I refer to .

Although I am thankful for the end of the Japanese 2011 whaling season by Watson and his merry men (and women!), it is with prudence.

Even if it was accomplished with great effort by the Sea Shepherd, what we often miss is what lies beneath the retreat from the Japanese hunting whales. In my own opinion and observation, the Japanese whale hunting retreat just seemed “too easy”. Obviously the Japanese did not want a full-scale international situation. But the whale retreat may signal other plans. Such as getting agreements in with the U.S. to allow the hunting of gray whales. Keep in mind that the US Marine & Wildlife will not approve the gray whales to be placed on the endangered species list, even with suggestions by creditable research institutions.

Recent comments found in various press reports in different newspapers around the world, suggest that gray whale populations are “on the increase” and also being that the case, “gray whale populations may not be sustained in the ocean due to their recent growth”.

Hmmm. Let me see… Over one hundred years ago, gray whale populations were in the hundreds of thousands – and that is a guess. Now, numbering less than 20,000 (not a true count – probably much lower) the same creatures may be “too much” for our oceans?

Enter the Japanese. There are already plans afoot to move their hunt to the north of their country and in their own “international waters”, where they will hunt minke whales, humpbacks and a couple of other species. And with the sanction/blessing of the U.S. government that grays have “saturated” the ocean, I am concerned by recent press that this is but a “set-up” to hunt more gray whales!

In 1996 Japan was recorded with 1600 tons of frozen whale meat. Now, in 2011, 6,000 tons of frozen whale meat sit in Japanese frozen food lockers!

Japanese officials are scratching their heads, trying to figure out how to get this whale meat distributed into their masses, when in fact less that 1 1/2% of the culture eat whale meat! Officials have tried making flavored hamburgers and hot dogs, pushing whale meat into parochial school lunches or including whale meat as part of a “traditional, cultural experience”.

And I thought only Californians “experienced things”!….

I can only wonder what is next. I really believe whaling is far from “over”.

I think I will side with one of the kookiest comments made by a baseball great Yogi Berra, when he said:

“It ain’t over until it’s over.”

Truthfully, endangered whales will stay endangered until governments decide to take action against those countries continuing to hunt whales.

It is a funny thing how man has evolved.

And it is just my opinion, mind you, but here goes.

Back when men wore loincloths and wielded clubs, he survived any way that he could. He had enough problems communicating with his own kind and due to the lack of food, sought anything and everything for shelter or for something to eat. He never really worried about other creatures, he only worried about his own existence.

Move forward a few thousand years. Man has learned technology. He has realized that he has a brain, which sets him apart from other creatures.  His societies and language grows as well as his ability to better survive the elements and feed himself and his family.

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One of several Japanese Officials admitting to the Japanese media he accepted whale meat as a bribe.

If it isn’t enough that Japanese Officials have been caught and exposed in recent months in their own whaling cover-ups, you would be surprised (maybe not) about the Japanese PR machine and whales.

In an enlightening book about Japanese whaling and diplomacy and whales, the Japanese people (just like America) have been dumbed into believing the press. I say this because for those of you that actually search the Internet daily, you will find articles and press releases about what is going on in the U.S. from outside sources, while the inside focus on housing issues or the recent drug busts.

Pretty much “smoke and mirrors”. Read the rest of this entry »

It was again recently discovered and reported that whale meat was being put into Japanese School children’s lunch menus during a national school week.

The actual rhetoric states “that schools plan special traditional, local, historical and cultural dishes.

Hmmm. The comment from the School Affairs Section of the Secretariat of the Minato Board of Education provided the above statement.

But what was not said was: Telling the Japanese students where the whale meat came from.

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