Iceland back to their old tricks

It seems it's that time of year again - time to boycott all things Icelandic:

Protest over Iceland's whaling plans

god I hate that.
The other day in the harbour of the town where we were staying in Ireland - Mullaghmore, in county Sligo, a local fisherman was telling me about how they get dolphins as well as blue and sperm whale just around there, that they might be fishing for their monkfish or lobster and just in the distance they'll see one of these colossus of the sea doing their thing.... and the Icelandic government claim that the depopulation of the fish in the north sea was because of the few WHALES that are left. Good lord.
Uh, I hate that.

from the Australian paper the 'Courier-Mail':
The Courier-Mail

THE United States has slammed Iceland's plans to resume scientific whaling this month and warned that although technically legal the hunt could result in US sanctions.

"The United States is extremely disappointed with Iceland's decision to begin a lethal research whaling program," deputy State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said.

He noted that Washington had been trying to convince Reykjavik for months, not to follow through on its stated intention "to begin killing whales" after a 14-year moratorium.

"While Iceland's program is technically legal under the (International Whaling Convention), the United States believes that the lethal research on whales they propose is not necessary and that the needed scientific data can be obtained by other well-established non-lethal means," Reeker said.

"The taking of whales will likely trigger a review of Iceland's lethal scientific whaling program for possible certification under the Pelly Amendment which provides for a range of US responses, including trade sanctions," he said.


Please let's hope they DO impose sanctions. For the first time they might actually be useful and propotional - rather than the US's reaction to Vietnamese
Catfish last month which was just insane.
The Icelandic people need, in my view, to have an indication that the rest of the world really does NOT support this kind of move to killing whales and whether that's consumer boycott or active federal trade sanctions, either is FINE with me!