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Thursday 26 June 2008
Wednesday 25 June 2008
Hogarth's attempt to stifle Chile conference just another step in covert US-Japan move against anti-whaling nations?
It shouldn't come as any surprise that International Whaling Commission (IWC) Chair, Bill Hogarth, is attempting to stifle debate and voting at the IWC conference in Chile.
It was only late last year that the US Dept. of Commerce through NOAA (for which Hogarth then worked) issued a press release which indicated a close relationship might be developing between the U.S. and Japan over future international commercial whaling.
The Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs appears to confirm this in a December 2007 official transcript of interview which indicates that Japan has some expectation that Hogarth is pursuing "normalisation" of the IWC which is expected to occur within 2 years.
The insertion of a U.S. based organisation, Pew Charitable Trust, into negotions over whaling led to the March 2008 closed-door IWC meeting which appeared ready to support Japan.
Indeed, Pew's involvement might be the vehicle being used by the U.S. to further Japan's aims.
But Japan is expecting more than a reform of tone. It wants to see some sign of progress towards the eventual approval of sustainable commercial whaling.
If it does not get that, it is likely to explore further the option of leaving the IWC and setting up a separate organisation of like-minded countries.
The Pew symposium suggested that some members of the anti-whaling bloc might not have too many problems with that, providing an extensive checklist of safeguards is introduced, possibly including elements such as
- limiting the species hunted
- deciding catch sizes internationally
- insisting on the observation of whale sanctuaries
- bringing scientific whaling under international oversight
It is becoming increasingly obvious that the U.S. is not adverse to assisting Japan broker a trade-off which would allow it to increase its coastal whaling in return for minimum concessions on its 'scientific' research.
Japan Today reported on 22 June 2008:
Even anti-whaling countries have shown concern about the course of the IWC, with some, including the United States, seeking establishment of a working group of 10 to 15 countries to discuss coastal whaling and research whaling.
Japan is currently Vice-Chair of the IWC and its veiled threat to withdraw from the commission is now firming into a public stance.
In Chile this week Japan continues to try and isolate Australia.
Australia is not a big export market for Japanese goods and services, nor does Japan invest heavily in this country.
How little importance Australia now holds for the Government of Japan is indicated by the schedule of VIP visits found at its own Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.
The imbalance is clear over the last decade (list does not include Rudd, Smith and Crean visits to Japan since the November 2007 change of government in Australia).
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 1957 | Prime Minister Robert Menzies |
| 1970 | Prime Minister John Gorton |
| 1973 | Prime Minister Edward Whitlam |
| 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982 | Prime Minister John Fraser |
| 1984, 1986, 1987, 1990 | Prime Minister Robert Hawke |
| 1992, 1994, 1995 | Prime Minister Paul Keating |
| 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005 | Prime Minister John Howard |
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 1957 | Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi |
| 1963 | Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda |
| 1967 | Prime Minister Eisaku Sato |
| 1971 | Prince and Princess Mikasa (international conference) |
| 1971-73 | Prince Katsura (study) |
| 1973 | The Crown Prince and Crown Princess (the current Emperor and Empress) (goodwill visit) |
| 1974 | Prince Naruhito (the current Crown Prince) (tour) |
| 1974 | Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka |
| 1980 | Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira |
| 1982 | Prince Katsura (tenth anniversary of establishment of the Australia Japan Society) |
| 1985 | Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone |
| 1988 | Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita |
| 1992 | Princess Sayako (tour) |
| 1993 | Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa |
| 1993 | Prince and Princess Tomohito of Mikasa (discussions about educational assistance for children with hearing or sight impairments) |
| 1994 | Princess Tomohito of Mikasa and Prince Katsura (charity event to provide educational assistance for children with hearing or sight impairments) |
| 1995 | Prince and Princess Akishino (official visit) |
| 1997 | Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto |
| 2002 | Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi |
Water raiders, nuke backers
A 'Not Happy, Chall' letter to the editor in yesterday's The Daily Examiner.
IN an effort to differentiate themselves from the regionally unpopular Liberal Party, the NSW Nationals went to the support of their federal counterparts contesting the November 2007 federal election by promising that rivers on the NSW North Coast would be safe from water diversion schemes and backing away from calls to place commercial nuclear power plants in the Northern Rivers region.
Less than seven months later the story changes.
According to the Tweed Daily News on June 16, the Nationals NSW secretariat (at its conference last weekend) resolved to 'support greater efforts to reduce eastern water lost to the ocean and more in-depth ways to turn water inland'.
The party's newly elected vice-chair, Jeremy Challacombe from Grafton, tries to present himself as a new-style National but just parrots the same old line from party diehards on water and energy.
Indeed, in The Daily Examiner (June 18) Mr. Challacombe had the gall to try and present the Lithgow-led push to once again grab Northern Rivers fresh water supplies as 'the motion was more about better water management than river diversion'.
Mr. Challacombe would be well aware that water in the Clarence catchment area (the principal target of would-be water raiders) is very well managed for sustainable outcomes.
His willingness to support investigation of 'nuclear options' is also disappointing for many in the Northern Rivers region.
It is strange that North Coast Nationals MPs, who would have been aware of both motions long before the conference started, either did not attend or made little effort to form a counter-lobby to either the Lithgow water raiders or Dubbo nuclear power plant proponents.
Saying that you would have 'howled them down' if you'd been there (Steve Cansdell) and that this would happen over your 'dead body' (Geoff Provest), or even that the parliamentary arm of the party would likely 'block the plan' (Don Page), may have made for good media copy.
However, it failed to impress this voter.
JUDITH M. MELVILLE
Yamba
IN an effort to differentiate themselves from the regionally unpopular Liberal Party, the NSW Nationals went to the support of their federal counterparts contesting the November 2007 federal election by promising that rivers on the NSW North Coast would be safe from water diversion schemes and backing away from calls to place commercial nuclear power plants in the Northern Rivers region.
Less than seven months later the story changes.
According to the Tweed Daily News on June 16, the Nationals NSW secretariat (at its conference last weekend) resolved to 'support greater efforts to reduce eastern water lost to the ocean and more in-depth ways to turn water inland'.
The party's newly elected vice-chair, Jeremy Challacombe from Grafton, tries to present himself as a new-style National but just parrots the same old line from party diehards on water and energy.
Indeed, in The Daily Examiner (June 18) Mr. Challacombe had the gall to try and present the Lithgow-led push to once again grab Northern Rivers fresh water supplies as 'the motion was more about better water management than river diversion'.
Mr. Challacombe would be well aware that water in the Clarence catchment area (the principal target of would-be water raiders) is very well managed for sustainable outcomes.
His willingness to support investigation of 'nuclear options' is also disappointing for many in the Northern Rivers region.
It is strange that North Coast Nationals MPs, who would have been aware of both motions long before the conference started, either did not attend or made little effort to form a counter-lobby to either the Lithgow water raiders or Dubbo nuclear power plant proponents.
Saying that you would have 'howled them down' if you'd been there (Steve Cansdell) and that this would happen over your 'dead body' (Geoff Provest), or even that the parliamentary arm of the party would likely 'block the plan' (Don Page), may have made for good media copy.
However, it failed to impress this voter.
JUDITH M. MELVILLE
Yamba
'Round the traps this week
Losin' my religion....
In this ultra-conservative, religion-raddled world we now seem to live in, it's beaut to see that the secular jibe is alive and well at The Quotations Page.
"Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck."
George Carlin
Late US comedian and actor
Obamarama?
Obama leads McCain by 3 points in Oregon and 15 points in Washington according to a SurveyUSA for June 17-19.
McCain leads Obama by 28 points in Utah according to a Dan Jones survey for the same days.
From Vote from Abroad yesterday.
Best blog pic this week
One of the few things cities do better
than the country -
toilet door commentary.
Pic found at PollieGraph
Tuesday 24 June 2008
Hubris on the US08 presidential campaign trail
It takes a healthy ego and full measure of arrogance to stay the course in any U.S. presidential election and, Barack Obama obviously has both.He has built himself a considerable nation-wide volunteer campaign team, but is he in danger of losing control of this political beast or did he really O.K. the disastrous faux seal shown in this photograph?
The Los Angeles Times reports that Obama has been widely mocked for the seal.
Obama's people are in damage control.
From Mark Ambinder's blog yesterday:
Photograph from The Los Angeles Times.
A message to the people of Japan in June 2008
Photograph from Mail OnlineThis mother and child are not meant to be food for an ancient and civilised people or the domestic pets they keep.
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