Eye of the DolphinEye of the DolphinSharing a passion for marine mammals, animals, wildlife, the beach and ocean, writing and politics. 
Articles
Health Revolution
2009-03-12 02:31:00 (Artist credit: Apollo)Was unable to access my blog for a couple of weeks and it took a lot of figuring out as to why. Hence, no updates and unable to publish comments I was informed were waiting for me here. Two issues I want to bring up in today's post: HR 875 and the Health Revolution Petition. This was sent to me so I thought I would share it here. This is one person's interpretation of this bill, and from what I read of it, it is certainly easy to understand why there would be much apprehension over this bill passing and becoming law. You May Be Arrested Soon For Growing A Tomato As our government hands over billions to Wall Street bankers, jobless Americans live in tent cities and collect food stamps in record numbers. Now when we need it the most, growing our own food may be against the law and punishable by a fine of up to $1,000,000. Think I?m joking? Meet Bill HR 875, The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, introduced by Rosa DeLauro whose husband Stanley Gre... More About: Monsanto , Big Pharma
A Denver Buffett
2009-02-26 09:06:00 (Artist credit: Dan Mackin)I've been having dreams lately of soft white sand beaches, turquoise waters as far as the eye can see, and gently swaying palm trees. In these dreams, I'm in a kayak on the water that looks, if you're standing on the shore looking my way, like I'm flying just above the water. You know how that looks in some pictures? The water is so clear and from a distance, a kayak or a boat can look like it's flying? I also dream of whales, dolphins, manta rays, and manatees in this perfect little world I envision while sleeping. One of of these days, I hope it will not be a dream but actual real life moments I can experience and treasure.Perhaps these dreams are being inspired by the fact that I've taken another round at reading Jimmy Buffett 's books. Tales from Margaritaville, Where is Joe Merchant, A Pirate Looks at Fifty, and A Salty Piece of Land. That last book is my favorite.I also have had John Denver on my mind. Grew up with his music and it alw... More About: John Denver
Save the Whales (Again)
2009-02-22 06:47:00 (Artist credit: Brian Marshall White) It's a pretty sad world we live in when someone can bash a seal over the head repeatedly and only be fined $2,000 and be suspended from the seal hunt for one day, and yet someone who photographs or videotapes that very event, is fined $100,000 and can be sent to jail for a year. Where are the freakin' priorities here people?Canadian Justice is a Wonderful Thing - NOT Sea Shepherd s season this year in intervening with the whale culling is now over and they have returned to Australia. Captain Watson is calling this season a success and you can read his outline of reasons why here: Ten Reasons that Operation Musashi Has Been a Success When the SS returned to Hobart a couple days ago, the Australian authorities were waiting with a warrant to seize all videos, photographs, global positioning records, etc from the SS. Captain Watson states that while he and his crew were treated civilly and professionally, he points out that the Australian author... More About: Save , Whales
Whalers Getting More Violent?
2009-02-04 20:54:00 (Artist credit: Daniel B. Holeman)So Phil the Groundhog says we have six more weeks of winter. Blech. Phooey. :: blowing raspberry :: What does that silly little fur faced varmint know anyway :-P LOL I'm so over snow. Bring on spring ASAP please.I was invited to be a guest blogger over at Paw Talk and they just put up my post today. They are a cool site focusing on animals and also include a forum. Please do check them out. You can find my post specifically here: Eye on the Dolphin I have also been invited to possibly write a guest post on Reef Tank. This site focuses marine species and salt water aquariums. They are definitely worth your time. Very cool!Guess the Japan Whalers are getting frustrated with Sea Shepherd 's interference. They have now lowered themselves to launching concussion grenades, brass bolts, and chunks of lead at the Sea Shepherds. They've also threatened to use Long Range Acoustic Devices, which are military class weapons and can cause d... More About: Violent
Who Killed Flipper?
2009-01-28 12:08:00 (Artist credit: Christian Lassen)What's been happening with Sea Shepherd since my last update? I can summarize it in just a few sentences.(1) Japan's Yushin Maru #2 got chased into some thick ice floes while running from the SS ship. Seems they were more afraid of SS than the ice. Which leads to #2 ...(2) Yushin Maru #2 sustained propeller damage caused by the icebergs and had to limp to Indonesia, seeking repairs. It took them a little over two weeks to get there.(3) While docked in Indonesia, they were refused service and repairs. The officials in Indonesia, after confirming with Australia and others that the Yushin Maru was, indeed, a whaling ship, told them to leave. Turns out Japan lied to Indonesia about who and what they were about.== Go Indonesia! :: wild applause :: ==(4) So the Yushin Maru limps away from Indonesian waters after being ordered to leave and Sea Shepherd had no idea for awhile where they were and what was going on .. until a few days ago. They ... More About: Dolphins , Killed
Whale Wars - Some Thoughts
2009-01-27 10:27:00 (Artist credit: Jeff Wilkie)It sucks to be sick. I had another much more grueling round of bronchitis to suffer through and it took over three weeks to get over that. :: sigh :: It's hard to get anything done when you have to cough like a crazy woman every few minutes. Plus it exhausts you.In addition, my partner went in for a heart catheter procedure a little less than two weeks ago. So that was surreal and provided some tense moments for awhile. Fortunately, all is okay on that front.At least I was able to get out for a nice dinner for my birthday on the 15th, so that was nice!With the Whale Wars season now concluded on the Animal Planet, I wanted to share some thoughts / observations I had.It is unfortunate, in my opinion, that so much was focused on the group politics/drama ...Some observations I've made about the Sea Shepherd ..(1) While it is known that the volunteers who come on board do not necessarily have experience with being out to sea and what to do, etc ... se... More About: Thoughts
Whalers = Arrogant Wankers
2008-12-30 10:26:00 (Artist credit: Christian Lassen)I think I may be having a relapse in my bronchitis :-( Was feeling all gung ho last evening but my roommate started getting sick about two or three days ago and now I feel like maybe whatever she had has been passed on to me too. :: sigh :: I don't feel downright awful, but it's been hitting more more in the last few hours. I decided that before I'm down again for the count, to put fingers to keyboard and get at least a New Year's message out :-) The Sea Shepherd crew has been quite busy in the Southern Ocean. In their first week out, they caught up with the whalers and put them immediately on the run. That's pretty impressive - to catch up with them so quickly. I do recall last year, Captain Watson had mentioned something about the possibility of bugging the Japanese whale ships in order to keep track of them. I wonder if he was able to accomplish that this year somehow? After all, that's one helluva big-assed ocean down there and it... More About: Miami Dolphins , Dolphins , Los Angeles Lakers
Merry Christmas
2008-12-25 10:51:00 (Credit: Art Game)Apologies for the absence. The flu became a battle with bronchitis, and it took a lot out of me for awhile.Given today is Christmas , I will simply wish everyone a joyous holiday and return soon with updates.Thanks for your continued readership and I hope Santa is good to all of you :-)Mahalo,Dolphin More About: Merry Christmas , Merry
Sea Shepherd Making a "Splash"
2008-12-06 08:34:00 (Artist/Image credit: Howie Cooke)I've been battling either the flu or a very bad chest cold :-( I am recovering though and doing much better than the past couple of days. I don't get sick often and usually when I do, I've been likely to get over it within a day or two ... but this time around it's really kicked my butt. Seems yesterday (or was it the day before yesterday, Australia time?) the Sea Shepherd departed Brisbane for the Antarctica. Many of the crew from last season are back along with a number of new members as well.Among the new members is actress Daryl Hannah. She's long been involved in environmentalism and is well known for roles in movies such as Splash and Roxanne.You can read more in the latest update at Sea Shepherd.In my opinion, Japan is hypocrisy personified. They have stated they will arrest anti-whaling activists if they interfere with their hunts this year.For all their talk about killing whales for "research," Japan has resumed importing whale ... More About: Dolphins
Japan Heads to Whale Sanctuary
2008-12-02 10:10:00 (Artist credit: Christian Lassen)I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday :-) Mine was pretty quiet for the most part, other than some insanity involving horses my partner was taking care of over the weekend. They are racing thoroughbreds and decided to have some fun with us.One came barreling up behind me while I was walking one horse to the barn and if I had been just one inch to the left, I would have gotten run over. Sheesh. Insane beasts lol We celebrated our Thanksgiving on Saturday since my partner had her own family plans on Thursday, and Friday she had to work for a bit so it would have been too late to really start dinner. It was fun to cook it together although she did the cooking part. I have a tendency towards either burning things or blowing them up.The only thing I'm good at in the kitchen is making coffee and bagels, and using a barbeque grill (unless that explodes too.) Onto some news about our beloved marine mammals out there .... This breaks my hear... More About: Japan , Whale , Heads , Sea Shepherd
Whales, Sonar, and Wolves, Oh My
2008-11-12 10:42:00 (Artist credit: Christian Lassen)Is the whale ban in danger of being lifted? The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society is concerned that yes, this is very possible. They note that there are other countries outside of Japan and Norway, that appear to condone or support whaling.While they have expressed support of the Whale Wars series being currently shown on the Animal Planet and the fact that it will bring further heightened awareness globally on this unnecessary killing, they also would like people to be aware that this is a GLOBAL problem. You can find out more about WDCS's Global Marine Protected Areas Campaign and make your voices heard by signing the Global MPA Petition by visiting our website at Whales .org. If you?d like to do more to protect whales, you can adopt one at Whale Adoption.Some good news regarding the Navy Sonar testing and it's impact on marine life. Please check it out at the Huffington Post.I still don't think they're doing enough, but gotta start s... More About: Wolves , Sea Shepherd
Health = Freedom
2008-11-10 21:55:00 (Artist credit: Christian Lassen) Is your health at risk? Is the ability for you to have control over your health decisions at risk? Do you take vitamins? Herbs? Use garlic in your food? Welcome to Codex Alimentarius. Thanks to Big Pharma, United Nations, and the World Health Organization, they want to control what you put into your body. Mainly, they just want to profit from you. Your body is their vessel to billions more in profits and lots more control. After December 2009, you won't be able to buy vitamins, herbs, or other alternative choices without the approval or a prescription from your doctor. What will Codex bring? Why should you care? Well, this is just the tip of the iceberg... Dietary supplements could not be sold for preventive (prophylactic) or therapeutic use. Potencies would be limited to extremely low dosages. Only the drug companies and the big phytopharma... More About: Freedom
Whale Hunts About to Begin Again
2008-11-10 10:37:00 In briefly continuing the spirit of my last post about Proposition 8 .... We've certainly come a long way in the past 48 years, haven't we?(Artist credit: Christian Lassen)Did you know that Greenpeace , just two weeks before the Japan whale hunt is slated to begin, has surrendered their fight out in the Southern Ocean?Sea Shepherd 's Captain Paul Watson said:"As a Greenpeace co-founder, I am deeply offended that Greenpeace has been raising millions of dollars in the name of defending whales all year and now two weeks before the Japanese whaling fleet is scheduled to depart, they announce they will not be going," said Captain Paul Watson. "In my opinion they collected funds under false pretenses and now they have abandoned the whales. Shame on them."You can read Sea Shepherd's version of this here: Greenpeace SurrendersHowever, Greenpeace claims they are taking the fight directly to Japan this time.Greenpeace also claims credit for one of Japan's ships, the Oriental Bluebird, be... More About: Dolphins , Whale
Proposition 8
2008-11-07 05:39:00 It's been a long year of politics and the debating of various issues that run the spectrum. No one is more sick of it than I am and relieved that the election is now over.Obama wasn't my choice. Neither was McCain. But it is what it is and hopefully we'll actually see positive changes instead of more broken promises. I'm cynical though when it comes to our government and the so-called politicians who claim to be listening and looking out for their constituents.One issue I do want to touch on briefly that has long been a heated battlefield, is Proposition 8 that was just passed out in California.In a nutshell, Prop. 8 bans same-sex marriage. It's passage overturned the California Supreme Court's decision from last spring to make it legal for gay people to marry, to now no longer allow it. The vote was pretty much almost split down the middle. From what I heard, less than 20,000 votes separated the Yes camp from the No camp.70% of the African American population that vote...
I'm back - I think
2008-11-06 06:11:00 (Artist credit: Kim & Kay Vaudin)I apologize for being incognito here for a much longer length of time than I had originally planned. I had the best of intentions to resume this blog by Mid September. Alas, life got in the way and other things needed to be taken care of.I'm ready and raring to go though. Are you?We are coming up soon on this next season of Japan whale hunting. The Sea Shepherd Society will, once again, be out there in full force.Meanwhile, I strongly encourage any of you that gets the Animal Planet network on your television, to set your DVR's to record the Whale Wars beginning this Friday, November 7th.You can find the information on this serial documentary by going here -> Animal Planet's Whale WarsDolphin hunting in Taiji, Japan has continued, despite alarming reports of mercury and other toxins in these mammals being sold for consumption to an unaware public.You can read various reports and updates on this issue at Blue Voice.Meanwhile, if you need s... More About: Back
Hiatus
2008-05-15 03:52:00 This blog is on hiatus for the time being.Mahalo,Dolphin More About: Hiatus
Hiatus
2008-05-15 03:52:00 This blog is on hiatus for the time being.Mahalo,Dolphin More About: Hiatus
Happy Earth Day
2008-04-22 22:36:00 (Artist credit: Jim Warren)In the past year, there's been a mix of good news and bad news when it comes to the environment and our wildlife, both on the land and in the sea.The good news is, more and more people are waking up to the fact that our resources are not infinite and that the footprints we leave on our planet, can have lasting and damaging effects.More people are becoming aware of the unnecessary slaughter of certain animals such as the harp seals in Canada and the hunting of Whales by the countries of Japan and Norway, etc. People are more aware of the plight of the polar bear up in Alaska and the ongoing fight with the federal government to preserve what little is left of the pristine wilderness up there and the long term, irreversible effects of oil drilling would have on the Beaufort Sea.People in California continue to battle the U.S. Navy against the use of sonar as it is well documented that the use of sonar causes all sorts of physical and neurological damage on t... More About: Earth , Earth Day , Happy
Happy Earth Day
2008-04-22 22:36:00 (Artist credit: Jim Warren)In the past year, there's been a mix of good news and bad news when it comes to the environment and our wildlife, both on the land and in the sea.The good news is, more and more people are waking up to the fact that our resources are not infinite and that the footprints we leave on our planet, can have lasting and damaging effects.More people are becoming aware of the unnecessary slaughter of certain animals such as the harp seals in Canada and the hunting of Whales by the countries of Japan and Norway, etc. People are more aware of the plight of the polar bear up in Alaska and the ongoing fight with the federal government to preserve what little is left of the pristine wilderness up there and the long term, irreversible effects of oil drilling would have on the Beaufort Sea.People in California continue to battle the U.S. Navy against the use of sonar as it is well documented that the use of sonar causes all sorts of physical and neurological damage on t... More About: Earth , Earth Day , Happy
Seal Hunt Drama & Whale Tally from Japan
2008-04-16 10:31:00 (Artist credit: Linda Thompson)There has been a lot in the news lately about the Canadian Seal hunt. Rather than detail everything here, I kindly direct you to the Sea Shepherd site to read the updates.Also check out the latest good news at the Humane Society U.S. here.Enough international public pressure brought to bear on Canada has resulted in some positive things lately. Here's an excerpt from an email update I received yesterday from the Humane Society:Here's the most exciting piece of news: the European Environment Commissioner has announced a plan to ban the trade in all seal products originating from inhumane hunts. This builds upon the historic declaration by the European parliament in 2006. If an EU-wide ban is enacted, the fashion houses serving the main markets for seal skins today -- China and Russia -- would be forced to stop, and millions of baby seals would be saved from cruel slaughter. In the meantime, many nations have either banned seal product trade ... More About: Women , Japan , Drama , Whale
Seal Hunt Drama & Whale Tally from Japan
2008-04-16 10:31:00 (Artist credit: Linda Thompson)There has been a lot in the news lately about the Canadian Seal hunt. Rather than detail everything here, I kindly direct you to the Sea Shepherd site to read the updates.Also check out the latest good news at the Humane Society U.S. here.Enough international public pressure brought to bear on Canada has resulted in some positive things lately. Here's an excerpt from an email update I received yesterday from the Humane Society:Here's the most exciting piece of news: the European Environment Commissioner has announced a plan to ban the trade in all seal products originating from inhumane hunts. This builds upon the historic declaration by the European parliament in 2006. If an EU-wide ban is enacted, the fashion houses serving the main markets for seal skins today -- China and Russia -- would be forced to stop, and millions of baby seals would be saved from cruel slaughter. In the meantime, many nations have either banned seal product trade ... More About: Women , Japan , Drama , Whale
Be Free or Be Sheep
2008-04-14 11:05:00 Time has a talent for getting away from me. My sincere apologies for the long absence and no updates to speak of. I wouldn't even know where to begin right now so I'll just wing it ;-)If you have not read Naomi Wolf 's "End of America. Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot," then I strongly suggest you do so - and soon.I finally got it last week from my local library after being on the waiting list for quite some time. It's good news that it was popular enough to have such a long wait and it wasn't the only copy the city library had. According to the online database, they have 25 copies of it. Anyway, I devoured it in two days.Very disturbing reading about our country and the direction it appears to be heading towards.Everyone wants to bury their heads in the sand and think "No big deal, the government will take care of us. Besides, there is a thing called the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. No way will the government even think of violating them."It's already happen... More About: Free , Sheep
Be Free or Be Sheep
2008-04-14 11:05:00 Time has a talent for getting away from me. My sincere apologies for the long absence and no updates to speak of. I wouldn't even know where to begin right now so I'll just wing it ;-)If you have not read Naomi Wolf 's "End of America. Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot," then I strongly suggest you do so - and soon.I finally got it last week from my local library after being on the waiting list for quite some time. It's good news that it was popular enough to have such a long wait and it wasn't the only copy the city library had. According to the online database, they have 25 copies of it. Anyway, I devoured it in two days.Very disturbing reading about our country and the direction it appears to be heading towards.Everyone wants to bury their heads in the sand and think "No big deal, the government will take care of us. Besides, there is a thing called the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. No way will the government even think of violating them."It's already happen... More About: Free , Sheep
Harp Seal Cull
2008-03-27 10:24:00 (Photo credit: Hicker Photo)The planet is full of murderers. Japan kills hundreds of whales with excuses ranging from scientific research to it being a part of their culture. Canada kills thousands of harp seals because their rural communities need the money and because they, too, call it tradition and part of their culture. What a bunch of blathering horse poop.Color me stupid, but in today's technological age, there are literally thousands of ways one can make money from anywhere on the planet without having to club a seal pup to death.Sea Shepherd is currently on it's way to Canada to attempt intervention on this years harp seal cull. Canada has set their quota this year to be around the 275,000 mark, with most of the seal pups being under 3 months of age.Canadian Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Loyola Hearn says:"Canada's seal hunt is humane, sustainable and responsible," the minister said. "A number of independent reports have supported this over the years, including t... More About: Seal , Harp
Harp Seal Cull
2008-03-27 10:24:00 (Photo credit: Hicker Photo)The planet is full of murderers. Japan kills hundreds of whales with excuses ranging from scientific research to it being a part of their culture. Canada kills thousands of harp seals because their rural communities need the money and because they, too, call it tradition and part of their culture. What a bunch of blathering horse poop.Color me stupid, but in today's technological age, there are literally thousands of ways one can make money from anywhere on the planet without having to club a seal pup to death.Sea Shepherd is currently on it's way to Canada to attempt intervention on this years harp seal cull. Canada has set their quota this year to be around the 275,000 mark, with most of the seal pups being under 3 months of age.Canadian Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Loyola Hearn says:"Canada's seal hunt is humane, sustainable and responsible," the minister said. "A number of independent reports have supported this over the years, including t... More About: Seal , Harp
Blame the Whales
2008-03-24 22:12:00 (Artist credit: Jeff Wilkie)Seems to be the mantra of the Japan whalers and their government: "Blame the Whales ."For what? They, among other countries like Canada for example, blame marine wildlife for the "diminishing of fish stocks" all over the planet.Uh, what? That's the most ridiculous BS I've ever heard.In The Whale Warriors, this book by Peter Heller that I am reading, there is a lot documented in there about the damage Japan has done to the marine ecosystem. And Japan is not alone in the harm they have done that in many parts of the planet, may well be irreversible. The USA is no exception either. But I digress.Here's an excerpt in the book. Captain Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd was having one of his several conversations with Peter Heller and said:"You know what the Japanese delegate Tadahiko Nakamura said to me at the 1997 IWC meeting in Monaco? He said he didn't care if all the whales died. He said his duty was to his family, his company, his country, and that...
Blame the Whales
2008-03-24 22:12:00 (Artist credit: Jeff Wilkie)Seems to be the mantra of the Japan whalers and their government: "Blame the Whales ."For what? They, among other countries like Canada for example, blame marine wildlife for the "diminishing of fish stocks" all over the planet.Uh, what? That's the most ridiculous BS I've ever heard.In The Whale Warriors, this book by Peter Heller that I am reading, there is a lot documented in there about the damage Japan has done to the marine ecosystem. And Japan is not alone in the harm they have done that in many parts of the planet, may well be irreversible. The USA is no exception either. But I digress.Here's an excerpt in the book. Captain Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd was having one of his several conversations with Peter Heller and said:"You know what the Japanese delegate Tadahiko Nakamura said to me at the 1997 IWC meeting in Monaco? He said he didn't care if all the whales died. He said his duty was to his family, his company, his country, and that...
Happy Easter
2008-03-22 07:56:00 (Artist credit: Christian Lassen)I've been really distracted lately by basketball games, and have not been online much. With the college women's basketball tournament kicking off this weekend and games on TV almost every day for the next week or two, I figured I'd better get in now while the getting is good :-)Before I proceed further though, do I have any tech proficient experts in my audience? My other blog at The Dolphin's Wink is undergoing a renovation. The friend I am hosting with on his server, had previously been my go-to guy for updates, changes, etc to that blog. His career has taken off though and he no longer has the time to dedicate to a novice like myself like he used to. Which is great news for him and I wish him all the success in the world ;-) But I now need to learn how to maneuver around my FTP control panel where my blog info is and learn how to add banners and where, add the RSS feed and where, etc etc. I don't know my FTP from my elbow and am a com... More About: Easter , Happy , Sea Shepherd
Happy Easter
2008-03-22 07:56:00 (Artist credit: Christian Lassen)I've been really distracted lately by basketball games, and have not been online much. With the college women's basketball tournament kicking off this weekend and games on TV almost every day for the next week or two, I figured I'd better get in now while the getting is good :-)Before I proceed further though, do I have any tech proficient experts in my audience? My other blog at The Dolphin's Wink is undergoing a renovation. The friend I am hosting with on his server, had previously been my go-to guy for updates, changes, etc to that blog. His career has taken off though and he no longer has the time to dedicate to a novice like myself like he used to. Which is great news for him and I wish him all the success in the world ;-) But I now need to learn how to maneuver around my FTP control panel where my blog info is and learn how to add banners and where, add the RSS feed and where, etc etc. I don't know my FTP from my elbow and am a com... More About: Easter , Happy , Sea Shepherd
Focus on Sea Shepherd
More articles from this author:2008-03-13 09:37:00 (Artist credit: Jim Warren)Whew! A lot happened in this past week in our beloved marine world. I'll get right to it.Last week, Captain Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd fame, was allegedly shot at by the Japan Coast Guard while Watson and his crew were attempting to interfere with the whale culling. Crew members threw rancid butter on the Japan fleet and in retaliation, the Japan Coast Guard threw flash grenades at the Steve Irwin.A bullet struck Captain Watson, who had the foresight to wear a Kevlar bullet proof vest. In pictures shown on the Sea Shepherd site, Watson holds up the bullet and the mangled badge where the bullet also struck.Two other crew members were also injured when attempting to get away from the flash grenades. One suffered a hip injury and the other suffered from back bruises when falling on the deck. Both are okay and their injuries were not life threatening.In the aftermath of this incident, Japan made attempts to spin this story and to deny the shooting eve... More About: Focus 1, 2, 3, 4 |
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