Japanese Government Funding Cuts Could End ‘Research’ Whaling

English: Japanese whaling factory Tonan Maru no. 2 (1937) damaged by a Dutch submarine while taking part in the landing at Kuching, Borneo. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Japanese Government Funding Cuts Could End ‘Research’ Whaling (via Environment News Service)

Japanese Government Funding Cuts Could End ‘Research’ Whaling TOKYO, Japan, November 12, 2009 (ENS) – A review of Japanese government spending now underway could put an end to Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, according to Greenpeace, an environmental group that has campaigned…

Valentine's Day: Trying to Rationalise the Irrational

After the joyful Christmas period many of us find ourselves facing the eternal darkness of January with nothing to look forward to. On top of this darkness you may also have tried to convince yourself of your own powers of self will by sticking to your New Year’s resolution and giving up smoking, drinking or chocolate.

Firstly, you may wish to follow this sound advice – there is no point in giving anything up in January because it is the most depressing month of the year so there’s no need to depress yourself further by denying yourself some simple pleasures. If anything, you should actually drink, smoke and eat more during January to counter the dark gloom that descends upon our fair nation.

Secondly, once you’ve got January out of the way you are then faced with the similarly depressing prospect of February. February only has one real advantage – it’s 28 days long, although sometimes we have to endure another day of it because every once in a while February decides that it’s going to last for 29 days; such a tease of a month.

Politicians fret over UK’s cyber war readiness

Cyber attacks: the UK's army urgently needs a real life 007!

Politicians fret over UK’s cyber war readiness (via The Inquirer)

A REPORT has warned that the UK government is holding back the country's ability to hold its own in a cyber attack. The report from the Defence Select Committee worries that institutions like the army will be left standing in their virtual underwear if they are attacked because of the government's…

Does Depardieu herald Russia as a tax haven for Europe?

Does Depardieu herald Russia as a tax haven for Europe? (via The Christian Science Monitor)

French movie star Gerard Depardieu has returned to his native habitat in western Europe following a tumultuous Russia visit that has left behind a nation collectively scratching its head over the instinctively authoritarian Vladimir Putin's quirky decision to bestow Russian citizenship upon a cantankerous…

5 Most Hated Managers in the Movies

What makes these five movie managers such a hated bunch? The criteria includes: selfish intentions, manacle and manipulative behavior and a total lack of social morals and ethics. Even the magical escapism of the cinema is plagued with dreadful supervisors and horrid higher-ups that could use a soothing spa treatment and a life outside of work. Getting an eyeful and earful of the five most hated managers in the movies may just make going back to work on Monday seem not as bad after all.

France wants Google to invest in its internet

France wants Google to invest in its internet (via The Inquirer)

THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT has its eyes on Google's wallet and is asking whether the firm should kick in some sort of monetary tribute in exchange for running its adverts there. The government, well, France's technology minister Fleur Pellerin, made the suggestion after a local ISP, called Free, began blocking…

17 billion Earth-sized planets in Milky Way: study

17 billion Earth-sized planets in Milky Way: study (via AFP)

The Milky Way contains at least 17 billion planets the size of Earth, and likely many more, according to a study that raises the chances of discovering a sister planet to ours. Astronomers using NASA's Kepler spacecraft found that about 17 percent of stars in our galaxy have a planet about the size…

Milton Sprouse: The Roswell UFO Crash Interview

By Bill Knell

Like most UFO incidents denied by the U.S. Government, the 1947 Roswell crash refuses to go away quietly. Each time a government spokesperson invents a new explanation to contradict the theory that an alien spacecraft crashed near Roswell, one or more new witnesses come forward to support the original Air Force statement. That statement called the object a ’flying disc’ and left us with the impression that the occupants weren’t quite human.

Anger Over Indonesian Cattle Mistreatment

Anger over Indonesian cattle mistreatment (via AFP)

Animal rights activists on Monday denounced "cruel" treatment of cattle in Indonesia after pictures emerged of cows on their way to market being lifted by a crane from ropes tied to their heads. It is another blow to the country's reputation for dealing with livestock following international criticism…

Elephants may drive Brigitte Bardot to join Gerard Depardieu in Russia exile

Brigitte Bardot lors d'un passage à Nice (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(via AFP)

Brigitte Bardot has threatened to follow Gerard Depardieu to Russia unless two elephants under threat of being put down are granted a reprieve.

In a surreal twist to the saga over Depardieu’s move into tax exile, the veteran animal rights campaigner said she would emulate his request for Russian nationality unless authorities intervened to save the elephants named Baby and Nepal.

The two elephants face being put down because they have been diagnosed with tuberculosis and have been deemed a threat to the health of other animals and visitors to the Tete d’Or zoo in Lyon.

City authorities ordered the elephants to be put down last month but a petition organised by their original owner, circus master Gilbert Edelstein, resulted in them being granted a temporary reprieve over Christmas.

Bardot said in a statement she would be leaving France if the reprieve was not made permanent.

“If the powers that be have the cowardice and the shamelessness to kill Baby and Nepal… I have decided to take Russian nationality and quit this country that is nothing more an animal cemetery,” Bardot said.

Bardot, 77, has been a high-profile supporter of Depardieu in his spat with the French government over his decision to take up residence in neighbouring Belgium for tax reasons.

She said last month that her fellow actor, who was branded “pathetic” by Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, had been the “victim of extremely unfair persecution”

More About Brigitte Bardot on Wikipedia 

Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot is an animal rights activist and a former actress, singer and fashion model from France. She was one of the best-known sex symbols of the 1950s and '60s. Starting in 1969, Bardot's features became the official face of Marianne (who had previously been anonymous) to represent the liberty of France.

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Top 5 Criminal Motives

People commit crimes for many reasons, none of which can be pinpointed without examining each case separately. Some people may even have more than one motive to commit a crime. Some motives are personal, while others have nothing to do with the victim’s explicit qualities. Some motives are social while others are psychological. Some of the most common reasons people commit crimes might be shocking, but the motive always makes sense to the offender.

Concerns over Arctic drilling grow as oil rig runs aground in Alaska

An oil drilling rig operated by Royal Dutch Shell ran aground on a pristine wildlife-rich island in Alaska on Monday. This came after a series of technological failures in gale force winds and high seas—driving home serious concerns of WWF about drilling in the Arctic.

“This incident is a clarion call to America that the rush for Alaska’s oil is dangerous and irresponsible,” says Margaret Williams, managing director of the WWF-US Arctic Program. “Despite the US Coast Guard’s heroic response, the safeguards in place to protect the state’s wildlife and communities are still not adequate to prepare for all of the unforeseen circumstances related to drilling in this environment.”

More than 250 federal and state officials, as well as representatives of Shell, assembled in Alaska Tuesday to develop a plan of action for managing what Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation officials called “the largest response effort ever launched in Alaska in the winter.”

A Series of Mishaps

The grounding of the vessel is the last of a series of incidents for Shell after the company received permission from the U.S. government in August to conduct exploratory offshore drilling in Alaska’s Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Over the last four months, the two rigs and tug boat used in the operation have experienced engine failure, fire and broken tow lines. Shell’s response vessel for this mission was deemed ill-prepared for response and Shell was fined for a series of illegal discharges of toxic fluid from one of its drilling rigs. Shell also was fined for violating air permit regulations related to the drilling operation.

“After promising to the US Administration and the public that it was ready for all contingencies in the Arctic, Shell has demonstrated that this is hardly the case,” Williams says. “Enough is enough. Our federal and state officials should use these mishaps as a somber warning to re-evaluate their approach to offshore drilling in America’s Arctic.”

WWF in the Arctic

WWF believes it is not yet safe to allow offshore oil and gas development in the Arctic, as the right technology for responding to an oil spill in such an icy, remote and dark area is not in place and vulnerable areas have not yet been identified. If the time ever comes when such technology exists and is proven to be effective, WWF supports drilling under certain conditions. To that end, WWF is doing the following:

• WWF is identifying the most important and sensitive places for Alaska’s wildlife, which often are places of significance—culturally, economically and environmentally—to indigenous people and communities. We also consider areas that are particularly resilient to climate change. After identifying these areas, we aim to ensure they are off limits for industrial development, including oil and gas drilling.
• WWF is advocating for science-based and transparent decision-making processes about when drilling is allowed. Based on the assessment of engineers, biologists and many oil and gas industry officials, WWF believes there is not adequate technology or infrastructure to respond to and contain spills in the sea ice environment. WWF promotes restricting drilling periods and other standards to minimize environmental impacts.
• We want to ensure that there is the capacity to respond to a drilling disaster. Currently, there is not adequate equipment, people, or training in Alaska to respond to a spill.
• Because many marine mammals depend on sound to survive, WWF wants to see better regulations in place that help minimize the amount of drilling-related noise.

What You Can Do

Join WWF in telling the federal government to keep the Arctic pristine and not jeopardize our natural heritage and local communities over risky oil exploration.

SOURCE: World Wildlife Fund,

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