A WHALE OF A STORY

Now HERE'S a great idea.

Earth's largest animals are barely holding their own now in the planet's warming oceans, still subject to illegal hunting (primarily by Japan) and the hapless, helpless victims of other environmental issues.

But have a read of this gem:

For National Geographic News
June 16, 2006
Pro-whaling nations may take control of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) this weekend for the first time since commercial whale hunting was banned 20 years ago.

Delegates from the 70-nation commission are gathering on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts for the IWC's annual meeting, which runs today through June 20.

Ever since the commission banned commercial whaling in 1986, Japan has worked tirelessly to restore the whale hunt. The Japanese government argues that whaling is central to Japanese culture.

This year antiwhaling activists fear Japan may finally get its way. The island nation, many believe, has recruited enough countries into the pro-whaling camp to begin chipping away at whale protections.

This morning, however, Japan lost a vote on a proposal to remove from the meeting agenda discussion of small whales, dolphins, and porpoises—which conservationists consider some of the most endangered species in the whale family.

But Japan may well have its majority before the meeting is out.

"The first vote was in keeping with the status quo," said Susan Lieberman, director of the Global Species Program for the conservation organization WWF, speaking from the St. Kitts meeting.

While the first vote is encouraging for the antiwhaling community, Lieberman says, several nations had yet to arrive at the meeting or pay their dues. At least two of those nations, she adds, are pro-whaling.

A majority of pro-whaling votes on the whaling commission will not overturn the ban. That requires a 75 percent majority. But the anti-whaling community fears a shifting tide.



So you've got the whaling weenies apparently gaining more power and I'm sure that can't be good news for Canada's beautiful Belugas or any other species. And God love Newfies, but our Canucklehead government continues to permit the annual clubbing of baby seals off the Newfoundland coast despite the international protests.



You would have thought they might have learned something about the death of the cod fishery off Newfoundland's Grand Banks, but apparently not.

Timberwolves, grizzly bears, African and Indian elephants...you name it, it's vanishing or becoming more threatened every day. And don't even get me STARTED on our treatment of domesticated animals.

Just another rant from just another voice in the wilderness...

FROM MARS, WITH LOVE

HELLO, EARTH CREATURES!

Marvin the Martian here on the barren landscape of the red planet, just peaking in to see how you're doing...and observing that from out here, you seem to be a little confused.

What is it about humans that while millions are starving in Africa and dying of disease and at the hands of machete-wielding countrymen, all of your focus is on a silly sport where your males kick a ball around for 90 minutes?

We noticed that the leader of your superpower collection of individuals, we believe you call him Dubya, flew in one of your primitive air-travel vehicles yesterday to that place you invaded for no apparently good reason at all.

He shook hands with some of your armed warriors for the cameras and then returned to the place with the big white building in the landmass you call North America. And today, the 2,500th American soldier was killed in the tiny locale you call Iraq.

Huh? We are baffled about many things that you do. We've been thinking about dropping by for a visit, but we keep hearing you say that your males are from our planet and your females are from Venus.

The only Earth creature we've ever seen is a long-eared species named Bugs Bunny. Oh...wait a minute now...I'm getting word of a breaking development in the land you call the British Isles...

NEWS FLASH!!!!!!

This story, just in...

A PENSIONER has been charged with sending packages containing sugar and weedkiller to Prime Minister Tony Blair and his family, police have said.



A suspect package similar to this was sent to the Blairs. Shirley Rita Freed allegedly posted parcels marked for the attention of Mr Blair, his wife Cherie and son Euan to 10 Downing Street.

The 72-year-old, from West Sussex, is also accused of sending letters containing white powder to Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, and Ann Clwyd MP.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said Freed was charged with five offences under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (HA HA HA!!!!) when she answered bail this afternoon. All the packages and letters were sent last year.

The charges state that the packages were sent intending "to induce in a person anywhere in the world a belief that it is likely to be or contain a noxious substance or other noxious thing and thereby endanger human life or create a serious risk to human health".

The letter to Euan Blair was allegedly posted on or before May 16 last year, and had enclosed a card, a handwritten note and sodium chlorate - a common weedkiller.

The following month a letter containing newspaper cuttings, sugar and weedkiller was sent to Mrs Blair at Downing Street, according to the charges.

Freed is accused of sending packages to Mr Blair and Ms Hewitt in September, both with newspaper cuttings enclosed.

Mr Blair received sugar and weedkiller, while a laxative was sent to the Health Secretary at the Commons. Ms Clwyd - a vocal supporter of the Iraq war - received aluminium sulphate, used in water purification, at the Commons in December.

Freed is due to appear before magistrates in Brighton on June 29.

We up here on Mars salute your western leaders -- that is, Dubya and the Blairs -- for hitting at the true heart of terrorism on your planet, namedly 72-year-old Earthling females.

I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM

THE DISTURBING but likely familiar image (if it in fact reproduced above)is called Scream, by an artist named Edward Munch.

And while it could very well apply to a lot of the goings-on in today's world these past few days, it aptly describes my feeling of horror upon visiting my friendly neighborhood video store today.

I was looking for a new release called Final Fantasy VII, for my 14-year-old son. The Blockbuster Video outlet is usually crawling with customers but on a Saturday afternoon, I found the only two people in the store were the woman behind the counter and me.

I couldn't find Final Fantasy but I did pick up a few previously viewed flicks. I went and asked her if they had stocked Final Fantasy or expected to get it in soon. She told me that they had one copy left, and went to get it.

She returned and told me that no, it had been ripped off by a couple of lunkheads who this past week came in and stole a whole bunch of movies.

I shook my head as I paid for the other movies I was buying. I stepped through the little security device at the exit that beeps if someone purposely or inadvertently tries to walk out with a movie or game they haven't paid for.

"Lot of good this is, I guess," I said with a smile, motioning at the security device.

"That doesn't make a difference," she said. "If the beep went off right now, could I stop you from walking out if I'm here all alone? They just pick up the movies they want and walk right past me.

"I can't do a thing about it. It happens five or six times a week."

Maybe I'm naive, but I've been walking around since then in a state of wonder. How could we have gotten to this point of wanton disregard, this I-don't-care brashness or stupidity?

What is happening to who we are? And why don't the 97 per cent of us who aren't like that come up with a way to do something about it? Clearly the politicians and armies and religious leaders can't seem to.

A REAL Dinosaur Story...

In the News right now...
--Bush applauds bombing death of Al-Quaida leader, but group says the killing will only make them stronger and more committed to their holy war;
--American army officer in Seattle refuses to go to Iraq as ordered, calling the war illegal and claiming his involvement would make him a participant in war crimes;
--Bush lackey criticizes UN second-in-command for chiding U.S. over its continued efforts to undermine the UN's moves to improve the world, including castigating the American government over the war in Iraq and other issues;
--Bush criticized by Far Right after Republican amendment to ban gay marriages in the U.S. fails to receive enough Senate votes.

So while George Dubya's star continues to shine as brightly as it ever has, we bring you a story about REAL dinosaurs, not the kind that are in the White House, the ones who REALLY should become extinct.

June 8: (EurekAlert): When unusually small dinosaur fossils were found in a quarry on the northern edge of the Harz Mountains in 1998, it was initially assumed that these were the remains of a group of young dinosaurs.

The rendition of the dinosaurs in the accompanying illustration are of a mini-me version of a species that paleontologists originally thought must have been the young of a species similar to brachiosaurs.

But experts now say the microstructure of the bones makes it very likely that the animals involved were adults. At a maximum estimated weight of one tonne they were only a fiftieth the weight of brachiosaurs, and thus by far the smallest of the giant dinosaurs which have ever been found.

Of course, this has nothing to do at all with the news of the day, other than the association between one group of dinosaurs (the Bush administration) and the real type of dinosaurs.

But what the heck...it is a diversion.