Abe Calls Off Speech Before Australian Parliament Due To Anti-Whaling Sentiment

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided not to speak before the Australian parliament:

Prime Minister John Howard had extended the invitation in May for both Mr Abe and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to make separate addresses to joint sittings on September 11 and 12.

Mr Howard’s office on Sunday would not confirm whether Mr Abe was still coming to Canberra or not.

“Details of the Japanese prime minister’s travel arrangements are a matter for the Japanese prime minister,” a spokesman said.

Australian Greens leader Bob Brown said Mr Abe had called off the speech to avoid Mr Howard being embarrassed by demonstrations against Japanese whaling.

“The prospect of hostile protests against Abe’s plan to harpoon Australia’s humpback whales in our Antarctic waters this Christmas was not a good look for Prime Minister Howard just weeks out from an election,” Senator Brown said in statement.

“Mr Howard wants to talk up a free-trade agreement with his Japanese counterpart, but the bloody prospect of the whaling fleet about to leave Tokyo is a vote loser in Australia that Mr Howard cannot afford to be seen welcoming.”

VonSkippy

Yes, I’m sure the Japanese people will be oh so proud that they get to go down in history as the last “civilized” nation to hunt a species to extinction for no other purpose then “they can”.

Perhaps they haven’t noticed, this isn’t the 19th century any more.

Good job!
http://hiddenblog1.blogspot.com/ The Unseen One

I don’t think it is because “they can”, but rather “Whale tastes good” and it is still profitable to hunt them. At least that’s what I’ve heard about whale tasting good, having not tried it myself.

Too bad it isn’t cost effective to farm whales. After all, the chicken isn’t endangered.

Overthinker

I’ve had whale sushi, and it does taste pretty good. Almost like beef. But the real reason is not taste but political and nostalgia: after WW2 the US government encouraged whale as a cheap meat substitute and many of Japan’s leaders grew up on school lunches of whale and are upset to find that they can’t get it any more.

Odd that Norway and Iceland are not considered civilised though.

John

Nah, real whale meat taste like crap and is mad bland, but it has a decent texture. Normally it’d be used as a poor man’s substitute for fish in sushi, but nowadays it’s more of an exotic offering that’s been heavily marinated or is fake. Get some raw whale meat from a smaller meat store near the sea and try it :S, yuck.

Overthinker

Yeah, the stuff I had was marinated. I haven’t had pure unadulterated stuff, so can’t tell how much the marinade affects the flavour. Must get my harpoon and find out….

immolationsex

What frankly amazes me is the incredible gall somebody would have to have to put a factory deck on what they refer to as a “research ship.” It’s like opening the The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska for oil drilling on the pretext of protecting caribou.
TofuUnion

When I was young I ate some whales meat. But now I eat chickens. According to the ocean investigations, some types of whales are increasing their numbers. And they are actually eating far more fish than people. If you hunt whales(based on scientific management), people can make more use of fish resources (and of course whale resources). That’s why I’m not particularly against whaling.

For Eskimos, Norway, Iceland and Japan, whaling industry was an important part of fishery culture. For those peoples whales were just as same as other edible animals like cows, pigs or fowls. Until 19th century even the USA was whaling to get oils in large quantities.(This ended when oil well drilling started.)

Anyway, mostly what I care about is the whole ecosystem. Ecologically it’s better for human to eat more grains and vegetables, less meat or fish(and insects eating could be theoretically better). But I personally don’t care anything but human flesh.(In the primitive age, I assume even cannibalism was common. Now it’s a strict taboo.)

More than a thousand years it was forbidden for Japanese people to eat meat based on Buddhist doctrine. Muslims never eat pork. Hindu never kill cows. Chinese and Koreans eat dogs, cats and monkeys. This food culture issue is so controversial. Who is right and who isn’t ? Who set the rules ?

Abe Calls Off Speech Before Australian Parliament Due To Anti-Whaling Sentiment

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