William Hogarth, the outgoing head of the International Whaling Commission, stepped down. Appointed byGeorge W. Bush, this biologist leaves the IWC deeply divided and in a state of crisis.The scandal known as "Whalergate" broke under his watch, when activists exposed a clandestine deal that would allow Japan to kill more whales along its coast for reduced "research and scientific" hunts in the Antarctic. He also failed to negotiate an agreement with Japan, Korea and of other pro-slaughter nations ahead of this summer's IWC meeting, when key votes could see the resumption of commercial whaling this year.
News also broke yesterday that Iceland's whalers were heading to sea to hunt and kill 250 whales despite protests and letters of opposition from all around the world. Following the collapse of the nation's banks, Iceland's government had been taking out full page ads promoting whale slaughters as a way to ease the financial crisis. Meanwhile, with children observing 'to learn,' natives of the Faroe Islands killed 150 pilot whales. Inhabitants here claim the slaughter of pilot whales is a tradition that allegedly dates back 1200 years and point to the discovery of bone fragments found in Gøta to justify the hunt.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
SUMMER OF SLAUGHTER GETS CLOSER
In Geneva, Japan and her pro-slaughter allies continued to disagree on the number of whales they want to kill. These talks were a part of continued negotiations to dissuade Japan from returning to commercial whaling as early as this summer. Japan wants permission for boats from its whaling ports in Abashiri, Ayukawa, Wada and Taiji to kill minkes along its coast in exchange for reducing the number of whales she takes under the IWC loophole called "research and scientific whaling" in the Antarctic.
Meanwhile, in Washington DC, Pierce Brosnan, the former James Bond star, visited the White House to lobby the Obama administration on the urgency to take the lead in the negotiations with Iceland, Japan and Norway. "Most people think they’ve been saved but they haven’t," said Brosnan. "The slaughter still goes on'.
If the talks fail, commercial whaling could begin this summer with our without the blessing of the IWC.
Meanwhile, in Washington DC, Pierce Brosnan, the former James Bond star, visited the White House to lobby the Obama administration on the urgency to take the lead in the negotiations with Iceland, Japan and Norway. "Most people think they’ve been saved but they haven’t," said Brosnan. "The slaughter still goes on'.
If the talks fail, commercial whaling could begin this summer with our without the blessing of the IWC.
Monday, May 18, 2009
SHOT OF FICTION #7: I’m Coming Home, Via Chicago
Final Posting by Eugene Lee
Re: Save the Whales Please
Every time I fly, no matter what mood I’m in and what I have been thinking of, my mind will inevitably tick off the different ways the plane would crash. I don’t have a fear of flying… I think everyone has a fear of crashing… and I don’t believe I’m particularly morbid, but as soon as the clunky, lumbering, clumsy plane lurches forward with real thrust, I’m reminded of how much damn energy it takes to get this hunk of metal in the sky, but moreover how hard it fall if something went wrong. I think of explosions ripping open the cabin too quick to process how yet everything would remit to slow motion. About one set of wheels being stuck at the landing causeing the plane to ricochet across the runway slamming into to other aircraft. OR the plane cart-wheeling across the concrete sea like when plane hit water on “Airforce One.” And sometimes, when I look out the window at the wing, I start to imagine the little bolts and screws on the wing wiggling out one by one… I can’t believe things the size of my pinky are holding this plane together.
But I’m here now in Minnesota, heading back to LA via Chicago (a fantastic song) and back for a shift at a job I use to love but now feel it has become a relationship of convenience, one that has threatened to make tepid the waters of inspiration in the internal pools of the brilliant people I work with. Bit dramatic. I think poets, authors have written that making love is the death of oneself (though there is such a thing as selfish sex) and that the when a guy “goes”, so thus does a little piece of his soul. So as each pour of steam milk makes a beautiful rosetta, heart, fern leaf, or abstract art, into the latte of every entitled, rude, and bullshit person in LA, a little death of ones spirit is happening, an ebbing away of the soul of… okay this definitely is hyperbole and dramatic…. It’s 7:32 in the AM.
Advice: Pay the extra 20 bucks and get direct flights.
I finished “the Whale Book” last week before I left for Minnesota so I’ve had nothing to read at the airport. This book that read with Danny Boyle pacing flew by the last 50 pages. It’s like reading a book is a marathon and after all the ups and downs you see the end is in sight and a mixture of determination of a strong finish and the wanting to be nostalgic and soak in every last freckle of impression collide into a last gasp fit of purpose. And then it’s done. The last text, half a page, couple of sentences and a new paragraph that is small and tidy… and then nothing, You search for more but the next page is blank, the finality cascades down in parchment white.
When it’s over, it’s over. You can search for more, read the authors bio, read the back, read the preface but what you have is a perfect journey with an end. So now what? DO I give the book back? Save the Whales Please, the book that read like a movie, the book that made me think books should have trailers, inspired me to make one of my own, my directorial debut. The book that reminded me of Sigur Ros bowed guitars and the fact that whaling continues today under the guise of scientific research. That cultural relativity not withstanding, it is even worse to use humane and open-minded sensibility to shield the real intent of profit and sport. I believe in every culture’s right to their traditions and cuisine, but certainly as we forge towards our future, in this shared experience we call “Life on Earth”, we have a responsibility to respect our ecosystems as we do our own home, our record collection, our relationships.
There are relationships of all stripes. Books, family, “the regulars” in our lives, our passions, our love, and a city. I leave Minneapolis, Minnesota having only flirted with her treasures. I enjoyed the missing traffic and the explosions of green. There are over 10,000 lakes here! Everyone talks like Bobby’s mom (or Sarah Palin). The plane is taking off, I’m staring at the wings…
I’m gonna climb the Grand Canyon’s South rim in to 3 days and I am out of shape. I’m gonna play my first public show in 2 weeks and I don’t even know whose gonna play with me… or what we’ll play. I don’t know when I’ll see her again... And now that I’m done with Save the Whales Please I don’t know what I’m gonna read. What I do know… this red apple is delicious, I’m gonna listen to Via Chicago by Wilco (from the Live in Chicago album) and I’m definitely going to be late to work…
“I’m searching for a home, I’m searching for a home… via Chicago.”
******
Re: Save the Whales Please
Every time I fly, no matter what mood I’m in and what I have been thinking of, my mind will inevitably tick off the different ways the plane would crash. I don’t have a fear of flying… I think everyone has a fear of crashing… and I don’t believe I’m particularly morbid, but as soon as the clunky, lumbering, clumsy plane lurches forward with real thrust, I’m reminded of how much damn energy it takes to get this hunk of metal in the sky, but moreover how hard it fall if something went wrong. I think of explosions ripping open the cabin too quick to process how yet everything would remit to slow motion. About one set of wheels being stuck at the landing causeing the plane to ricochet across the runway slamming into to other aircraft. OR the plane cart-wheeling across the concrete sea like when plane hit water on “Airforce One.” And sometimes, when I look out the window at the wing, I start to imagine the little bolts and screws on the wing wiggling out one by one… I can’t believe things the size of my pinky are holding this plane together.
But I’m here now in Minnesota, heading back to LA via Chicago (a fantastic song) and back for a shift at a job I use to love but now feel it has become a relationship of convenience, one that has threatened to make tepid the waters of inspiration in the internal pools of the brilliant people I work with. Bit dramatic. I think poets, authors have written that making love is the death of oneself (though there is such a thing as selfish sex) and that the when a guy “goes”, so thus does a little piece of his soul. So as each pour of steam milk makes a beautiful rosetta, heart, fern leaf, or abstract art, into the latte of every entitled, rude, and bullshit person in LA, a little death of ones spirit is happening, an ebbing away of the soul of… okay this definitely is hyperbole and dramatic…. It’s 7:32 in the AM.
Advice: Pay the extra 20 bucks and get direct flights.
I finished “the Whale Book” last week before I left for Minnesota so I’ve had nothing to read at the airport. This book that read with Danny Boyle pacing flew by the last 50 pages. It’s like reading a book is a marathon and after all the ups and downs you see the end is in sight and a mixture of determination of a strong finish and the wanting to be nostalgic and soak in every last freckle of impression collide into a last gasp fit of purpose. And then it’s done. The last text, half a page, couple of sentences and a new paragraph that is small and tidy… and then nothing, You search for more but the next page is blank, the finality cascades down in parchment white.
When it’s over, it’s over. You can search for more, read the authors bio, read the back, read the preface but what you have is a perfect journey with an end. So now what? DO I give the book back? Save the Whales Please, the book that read like a movie, the book that made me think books should have trailers, inspired me to make one of my own, my directorial debut. The book that reminded me of Sigur Ros bowed guitars and the fact that whaling continues today under the guise of scientific research. That cultural relativity not withstanding, it is even worse to use humane and open-minded sensibility to shield the real intent of profit and sport. I believe in every culture’s right to their traditions and cuisine, but certainly as we forge towards our future, in this shared experience we call “Life on Earth”, we have a responsibility to respect our ecosystems as we do our own home, our record collection, our relationships.
There are relationships of all stripes. Books, family, “the regulars” in our lives, our passions, our love, and a city. I leave Minneapolis, Minnesota having only flirted with her treasures. I enjoyed the missing traffic and the explosions of green. There are over 10,000 lakes here! Everyone talks like Bobby’s mom (or Sarah Palin). The plane is taking off, I’m staring at the wings…
I’m gonna climb the Grand Canyon’s South rim in to 3 days and I am out of shape. I’m gonna play my first public show in 2 weeks and I don’t even know whose gonna play with me… or what we’ll play. I don’t know when I’ll see her again... And now that I’m done with Save the Whales Please I don’t know what I’m gonna read. What I do know… this red apple is delicious, I’m gonna listen to Via Chicago by Wilco (from the Live in Chicago album) and I’m definitely going to be late to work…
“I’m searching for a home, I’m searching for a home… via Chicago.”
******
Friday, May 15, 2009
STWP IS NOW IN THE TROJAN BOOK STORE!
As University Southern California alumni who belive in the unquestioned greatnes of Troy, we are pleased to announce "Save the Whales Please" is now on sale at the Trojan bookstore on campus!
Copy and paste this link to chekc it out: http://www.booksite.com/texis/scripts/oop/click_ord/showdetail.html?sid=1821&isbn=1601641656&music=&buyable=1&assoc_id=&spring=
Copy and paste this link to chekc it out: http://www.booksite.com/texis/scripts/oop/click_ord/showdetail.html?sid=1821&isbn=1601641656&music=&buyable=1&assoc_id=&spring=
Thursday, May 14, 2009
JAPAN WANTS TO KILL, BLOCKS AGREEMENT
BBC is reporting that Japan has forced a stalemate in the ongoing negotiations between between pro-slaughter and anti-whaling nations. Both sides wanted to come to an agreement before this year’s International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting. Apparently, Japan is adamantly refusing to make little concession in how many whales the nation wants to kill. According to a source, Japan offered to take only 29 fewer minke whales, far short of the number anti-whaling nations want.
Japan has steadfastly maintained its intention to return to commercial whaling, which activists fear might happen as early as this summer.
Japan has steadfastly maintained its intention to return to commercial whaling, which activists fear might happen as early as this summer.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
ANOTHER NICE REVIEW! That's #5!
Link to Kristin Merrihew's full review in BREAKING NEWS!
Save the Whales Please mixes high-stakes whaling drama with quite sophisticated international plotting by players in Tokyo, Washington, the North Pacific, and Europe. The novel takes us into boardrooms and back rooms, onto ship bridges and bloody slaughter platforms, and into the midst of maneuvering politicians and vicious pirates (ripped from the headlines, no?). In fact, a number of events that have either already happened or could very possibly occur in the not too distant real world also sharpen this novel’s suspenseful edge. The difference between our reality and the novel’s though is that nearly everything in Save the Whales Please links to novel’s centerpieces: whaling…and its uncompromising opponents.
The novel whisks cinematically from one short scene to another like the action blockbuster prose “movie” it is. Its nail biting opening scenes make one wonder if the authors haven’t shot their biggest wad very prematurely. But not to worry. Konrad Karl Gatien and Sreescanda (who also write for the big and little screens) skillfully pepper the story with limited victories on the various sides, only to then pose new obstacles and dangers. The culmination crescendos, pulling numerous plot threads together and piling peril upon peril to surprise even the jaded reader with its audacity.
Save the Whales Please mixes high-stakes whaling drama with quite sophisticated international plotting by players in Tokyo, Washington, the North Pacific, and Europe. The novel takes us into boardrooms and back rooms, onto ship bridges and bloody slaughter platforms, and into the midst of maneuvering politicians and vicious pirates (ripped from the headlines, no?). In fact, a number of events that have either already happened or could very possibly occur in the not too distant real world also sharpen this novel’s suspenseful edge. The difference between our reality and the novel’s though is that nearly everything in Save the Whales Please links to novel’s centerpieces: whaling…and its uncompromising opponents.
The novel whisks cinematically from one short scene to another like the action blockbuster prose “movie” it is. Its nail biting opening scenes make one wonder if the authors haven’t shot their biggest wad very prematurely. But not to worry. Konrad Karl Gatien and Sreescanda (who also write for the big and little screens) skillfully pepper the story with limited victories on the various sides, only to then pose new obstacles and dangers. The culmination crescendos, pulling numerous plot threads together and piling peril upon peril to surprise even the jaded reader with its audacity.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
ANOTHER POSITIVE READER REVIEW
I picked up this book because I love whales and the plot seemed quite intriguing, but it surpassed all my expectations. Frankly, I could not put it down. The short chapters with their cliff-hanger endings were excellent. It's clearly written by staunch conservationists, but the authors are not heavy handed with the message. Another plus for me was the strong female heroine. I would be shocked if this did not show up as a movie. A good buy and an even better read.
LC, California.
More reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Save-Whales-Please-Sreescanda/dp/1601641656/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241727641&sr=8-1
LC, California.
More reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Save-Whales-Please-Sreescanda/dp/1601641656/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241727641&sr=8-1
WHO SAYS AMERICA DOES NOT KILL WHALES?
Two crews from a small community off the Chukchi Sea hunted and killed a bowhead whale after the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission lifted a restriction in 2oo8 to allow the village to catch one Whale each year at Point Lay. The 200-plus residents celebrated the bloody harvest. While this is the first successful hunt at Point Lay, Savoonga whalers of Alaska have had three successful seasons of slaughtering bowheads, which are one of the most severely endangered of all whales and the population is teetering on the brink of extinction. Beyond these aboriginal hunts, activists blame the United for whale strandings and deaths caused by a joint military exercise with the Philippines. A huge of mod melon-headed whales found themselves trapped in shallow waters off Bataan in February. The Defense Department has defended its exercises, blaming overfishing as the cause.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
ALICIA DOYLE on SAVE THE WHALES PLEASE
Look in BREAKING NEWS! Hear Alicia Doyle write-up on SAVE THE THE WHALES PLEASE in the Ventura County Star!
Friday, May 1, 2009
(Whaling) GAME ON!
Pro-whaling countries, led by Japan, made it known they are determined to win a crucial vote at the upcoming International Whaling Commission meeting in Portugal in June. Thirty-two countries who support the resumption of commercial whaling as early as this summer took a vote in a meeting at Tokyo to stand united at the IWC vote. This sets up a confrontation with the European Union which took a similar bloc vote to oppose Japan and its pro-slaughter allies. Since neither side has a majority, the international deadlock on the issue could continue indefinitely. Earlier, the British Parliament reiterated it opposed all whaling, including Japan’s “scientific and research” hunts.
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