Friday, February 27, 2009

Seal Hunt 2009 ... An Update

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I had been a little slow at updating my blog this week :) I was actually hoping that the entry - 'Seal Hunt 2009' will sank in a little further and deeper among all my readers and visitors. Is it working? :)


As of this entry, I've got some little updates on the 'Seal Hunt 2009'.

The Bad News
  1. Apparently, the hunting of seals are happening right NOW!!! In Canada, provincial and federal officials authorized and endorsed the slaughter of around 2,200 grey seal pups earlier this month. Location: Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada.
  2. This year, the slaughtering in Canada will be allowed until the 14th of March. About 20 to 30 sealers are expected to participate in this slaughtering. Seal pups will be herded into groups and clubbed to death. The age of the seal pups are around 8 weeks old. Tools used: Bat and Hakarpik - wooden bats with hammer head and metal hoot at the end.


The Good News
  1. However, it is good to hear that the hunt faced some tough challenges from the weather in some areas (mother nature is helping the seals too?). With a combination of bad weather and processing plant difficulties, the hunt which are to be commenced on Hay Island slowed to a halt. FYI, Hay Island is a Protected Wildnerness Area (What are them sealers doing there anyway?).
  2. The Russian government has banned the hunting of baby seals in the regions surrounding the White Sea. "Seal hunting is a bloody industry. It is clear that it should have been banned a long time ago" said Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Way to go, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. I hope Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper will take a leaf out of you!

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Saturday, February 21, 2009

Seal Hunt 2009

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As promised in "More 'click for a good cause' buttons right here....", here is a post on seal hunt.

What is seal hunt?
Seal hunt is defined as commercial hunting of seals for their meat, pelts (fur), skin and blubber (fat). Sometimes, seals are hunt to ensure the population does not reach undesired levels. Seal hunt is practiced widely by countries like Canada, Greenland, Norway, Namibia and Russia.


During Canada's annual seal hunt, hundreds of thousands of baby seals are killed in the most unimaginable and horrific ways. No doubt, seals stand no chance against club-wielding trappers. And, they must look on as fellow pups are bludgeoned to death before meeting the same bloody fate. They will have their skulls smashed in … or shot point-blank by hunters.

Now imagine this – the mother seal watches her baby being beaten to death. Can you then feel what the mother seal feels inside? - Anguish, heart’s broken, unparalleled pain, horrific, etc, she may even attempt to get to her baby … and possibly get killed herself.


Since 2003, over 1.7 million seals have been butchered. In 2008 alone, more than 205,000 individual seals were killed during the massacre. What puzzles me is that the government of Canada is willing to sacrifice everything (national reputation, wrath of taxpayers, economic hardship from boycotts) to continue their seal hunt which is nothing more than a money-making scheme orchestrated by professional fishers as well as make-work project for jobless fishermen.

Interestingly (and thank God), majority of the Canadians are opposed to the killing of seal pups. One of the best known is Rebecca Aldworth. She led a team of international photographers, journalists, and government officials on annual treks to the ice floes off the Canadian mainland to witness and document the barbaric cruelty of the seal hunt and to ask for their assistance in securing an end to the slaughter.

Watch this !!!
(warning: contain graphic images of seal hunt)

So, what can we do for the seals?
  1. Stop buying/wearing clothes containing materials made of seal!
  2. Boycott Canadian seafood products!
  3. Sign various petitions and pledges!
  4. Urge the Canadian government (through Canadian embassy in your country is possible too) to to call off the seal hunt!
  5. Spread the word - among your family members, friends ... whoever that will listen!
  6. Stay away from Canada while the hunt continues!
  7. Stop thinking that you can't make a difference. You can ... so long as you try! Canadian ... not Canadian ... who cares!!!
Take note! Canada Seal Hunt 2009 will start in about a month time!

Links to various petitions
Last but not least, a Facebook event (virtually of course) called 'Song of the Seal' will take place tomorrow at 1 p.m. So, do look out for it to find out what is it all about. For more information on seal hunt, you can visit:
So, lets take action NOW!
Lets put AN END to ANIMAL CRUELTY!
And thus, those seals will have a NEW BEGINNING!

I'll end this post with cute images of seals. Enjoy :)

(Now, do you want anything to happen to those cute innocent seals ... HELL NO!)

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Thursday, February 19, 2009

I am still trying to finish up my Sherlock Holmes ...

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I bought a book I've been wanting to read all my life quite a few years back. I think it was either 2004 or 2005. I can't even recall it myself right now for whatever reason :)


The book is called THE ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATED 'STRAND' Sherlock Holmes The Complete Facsimile Edition. As you can see, the book is so damn thick as it is a complete compilation of every single published Sherlock Holmes' stories.

By the way, please tell me you've heard of Sherlock Holmes. I mean ... Sherlock Holmes is the most famous fictional detective of all time. So you must have heard of him right? ... Or else, you must be kidding me.

In case you have not, ...
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Sherlock Holmes first appeared in a publication dated 1887. He is the creation of Scottish-born author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

A brilliant London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess, and is renowned for his skillful use of astute observation, deductive reasoning and inference to solve difficult cases.

Historically, Holmes lived from the year 1881 at 221B Baker Street, London, a flat up seventeen steps, where he shares many of his professional years with his good friend Dr Watson for some time.

Dr Watson assesses Holmes's abilities as such:
  1. Knowledge of Literature.—Nil.
  2. Knowledge of Philosophy.—Nil.
  3. Knowledge of Astronomy.—Nil.
  4. Knowledge of Politics.—Feeble.
  5. Knowledge of Botany.—Variable. Well up in belladonna, opium and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening.
  6. Knowledge of Geology.—Practical, but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other. After walks, has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of London he had received them.
  7. Knowledge of Chemistry.—Profound.
  8. Knowledge of Anatomy.—Accurate, but unsystematic.
  9. Knowledge of Sensational Literature.—Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century.
  10. Plays the violin well.
  11. Is an expert singlestick player, boxer and swordsman.
  12. Has a good practical knowledge of British law.
A popular pastime among fans of Sherlock Holmes is to treat Holmes and Watson as real people, and attempt to elucidate facts about them from clues in the stories or by combining the stories with historical fact.

Extracted from Wikipedia
So there you have it. I have to admit that this edition is so damn thick I haven't been able to finish it nicely and satisfyingly.


As I am rather free of late, I continued reading from where I left previously .... page 957. It took me several years just to reach that page LOL :) And, there is still approximately 200 pages left before I can stand tall and 'brag' to everyone that I have read every single Sherlock Holmes' stories.

On another interesting note, there will be a Sherlock Holmes movie out November this year. YAY! The movie will be featuring Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. Watson, his stalwart partner. Can't wait ...


Okay. Now back to submerging myself in Sherlock Holmes.

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