In just a few days, an international meeting will be held in Agadir, Morocco, to decide the fate of thousands of whales.  To the surprise of many, there is actually some doubt as to whether they will remain protected.  Japan is lobbying heavily, even bribing small poor Caribbean nations (not for the first time) and seducing them with gifts of cash, prostitutes, etc.  President Obama seems to have missed the point and is also pushing for a new resolution.  Here’s what they’re suggesting:

They want to reopen the seas to the take of certain whales in certain quantities — as many as 1000 a year — for a period of years.  After a decade of that madness, it is supposedly to be phased out.  If that sounds dicey and somehow wrong to you, give yourself points for a brain and a conscience.  Rewarding Japan’s bad behavior by giving them carte blanch to kill more whales doesn’t make much sense.  As it is, they have been blatantly defying the moratorium for over 2 decades now, by calling it Research.  Legitimate scientists of the world should be rightly offended by that. [Read more...]