Whales, net neutrality, Mr. Rogers, and irradiated green tea.

Pacific whales are moving to the Atlantic. Climate change is slowing ocean currents.  An excellent discussion with megadrought scientists.  Costa Rica shows us how to do it.

Kochs buying the ability to pollute the planet at will.

Net Neutrality is still under attack.

How other countries view the US gun laws.

Why does the GOP want a war with Iran?

Radiation found in Japanese green tea.

Proof that playing D&D is not the cause of modern juvenile delinquency.

The wonderful Mr. Rogers.

Manly methods of dealing with bears, lightning, ice, and other manly threats.

Climate change to WWII and O'Reilly in between!

Climate change?  What climate change?  What climate change might unleash.

Whale graveyard in Chile.  Counting whales from space.

Poor Bill O'Reilly... scared of tough wimmen.  Maybe he feels like this?

Therapy dogs.

Plastic in our food... is good for us.  Right?  How about raw fish?

Harry Potter and the aftermath.

President Obama hanging out with scientists.

Fukushima radiation affected the USS Reagan and its crew.

Finding the forgotten Russian soldiers from WWII.

The earth is getting fracked to death and other excitements...

Killing whales in search of oil.

Voices in a train station singing an old Icelandic hymn.

"Saving" our schools.

Getting up off the floor.

Hobbit number 2!




How watching Breaking Bad helped a woman dump an abusive boyfriend.  

Josh Marshall discusses Ted Cruz.

The difference between Republicans and Democrats described by one day in October.

Radioactive wastewater from fracking found in Pennsylvanian stream.

Headlines

Sometimes earlier technology is better:

Rare Austin which stood in garage for 50 years discovered... and starts first time!

Try not to piss off your crazy armed-to-the-teeth base!:

In the Wake of Arrests in Three States, Right-Wingers Rush to Defend Terror Suspects, Criticize FBI

In one word: No. In three: PLEASE GOD, NO!:

Is America ‘Yearning For Fascism?'

Frank Rich tries to explain the fever pitch of hysteria:

The Rage Is Not About Health Care

In one word: Yes. In elventy: WTF, just do it! We're drying up and blowing away here!:

Can Wastewater Save California's Parched Farmland?

The destruction of the ocean habitats continues:

Mysterious whale die-off is largest on record

When in doubt... take off clothes:

Man cites boredom after arrest on streaking charge

One on one

With whales. Fantastic photos!

It's WTF Tuesday!

Headline: Madoff says 12 years is plenty. No, actually it's not. But the intention is that you die in prison, so however long that takes, sir.

Trees that don't grow will help the environment?

Scientists in the United States are developing a "synthetic tree" capable of collecting carbon around 1,000 times faster than the real thing.

They make more money taking tourists to look at whales than killing whales?

Delegates to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) annual meeting here agreed it was worth extending reform talks that began a year ago.

Pro- and anti-whaling countries emphasised that fundamental differences remain between the two blocs.

Earlier, animal welfare groups released a new report arguing that whaling countries would gain economically by switching to whale-watching.

They calculate that whale-watching generates tourism revenue of about $2.1bn (£1.3bn) per year around the world, dwarfing income from whaling, which is measured in tens of millions of dollars.

A Scottish town no one has ever lived in.

Fire ants in Canada?!

Hasn't Congress learned ANYTHING AT ALL from this last election?

Congress stuffs war-funding bill with cash for other items.

All dogs speak Japanese.

I have found the perfect t-shirt for blogging...

Japan calls off hunt for whales

Apparently blubber isn't considered delicious anymore...

Japan has suspended its first humpback whale hunt in seas off Antarctica since the 1960s, its government said yesterday, backing down in an escalating international battle over the expansion of its hunt.

Japan dropped the planned taking of 50 humpbacks at the behest of the United States, which chairs the International Whaling Commission (IWC), said Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura. He said the suspension would last a year or two but that there would be "no changes" to Japan's stance on research whaling itself.

Japan dispatched its whaling fleet last month to the southern Pacific in the first major hunt of humpback whales since the 1960s, generating widespread criticism. Officials said yesterday they had not harpooned any humpbacks.

The move defuses for now a high-profile row with Australia, though Japanese officials deny they were influenced by Canberra's anti-whaling position. Australia announced on Wednesday that it would dispatch surveillance planes and a ship to gather evidence for a possible legal challenge to the hunt.

It was unlikely, however, to quell the increasingly bold high-seas protests against Japan's scientific whaling research programme, in which it kills 1,000 whales, mostly minkes, a year in the Pacific. Japan has wrestled with the IWC for years to overturn its 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling.

The decision followed talks between Japan and the US, said Hideki Moronuki, chief of the Fisheries Agency's whaling division. The US State Department had warned Japan that some anti-whaling nations could boycott IWC meetings, he said.

Commercial hunts of humpbacks – which were nearly harpooned to extinction in the 20th century – were banned in the Southern Pacific in 1963, and that ban was extended worldwide in 1966.

The decision to call off the hunt was welcomed by anti-whaling nations. "While this is a welcome move, the Australian government strongly believes that there is no credible justification for the hunting of any whales," the Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said, adding that it would continue with its surveillance plans.

Karli Thomas, who is leading a Greenpeace expedition heading to the Southern Pacific, also welcomed the development. "This is good news indeed, but it must be the first step towards ending all whaling in the Southern Ocean, not just one species for one season," she said.

Merry Christmas, you guys.

I don't think he's lost

I think he's hiding:

A 5.5m long minke whale has been spotted more than 1600km (994 miles) from the Atlantic Ocean, deep inside the Amazon rain forest. The whale ran aground earlier this week but after being freed with the help of vets and biologists it disappeared shortly afterwards.

Because of this:

The UK, Australia and New Zealand have sharply criticised Japan for the launch of its largest ever whaling expedition. The hunting fleet has instructions to kill up to 1,000 whales. Humpback whales will be hunted for the first time in over 40 years.

Swim for your lives! You're food!



Update 11/20: P.Z. Myers of Pharyngula has the last word.

When you are singing to impress a mate

Try to hold that note as long as you can:

Using tags suctioned to the whales' bodies, researchers tracked the whales and found that as they feed, they send out calls to let each other know where they are, each group employing a different sound.

The noises play a similarly important role during mating season when males sing long, low-pitched songs to indicate their reproductive fitness to females. Females select mates based on size and estimate that by evaluating males' songs: Larger males can take in more air and hold notes longer.

Would this possibly explain the mystery of the appeal of the Rolling Stones?

Update: Steve has written the lyrics, now we just need the music.....

Steve Bates said... She seeks the company of males,
And tries to find a prince of whales.
That lady orca never fails
Who finds the long-and-lows.

Who knew, that in the scheme of fate,
A blowhard is the bestest mate?
And yet... she must avoid the date
Who's shouting, "THAR SHE BLOWS!"

- SB the YDD