Japanese Resume Commercial Whaling On July 1

Japan had suspended commercial whaling operations in 1988, following an International Whaling Commission moratorium, but will now resume the practice on Monday, July 1, according to an article in NHK and this video.  Japan decided in December to leave the IWC because under current conditions the resumption of whaling seemed to be impossible at any level.

This article explains the Japanese justification for an industry that has become anathema over much of the world.

Sea Shepherd, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, is expected to confront Japanese whalers with units of its own fleet of vessels. This is likely to result in some form of violence, based on past experience. Expect to hear more about the Japanese whaling hunt and the responses to it.

Old Glory At Half-Mast

Ever notice flags flying at half-mast and wonder who might be "honored" by this? It's easy enough to find out. This website lists current and past individuals for whom the flag is lowered. A curiosity of this process is the make-up of these people. They are all either deceased public employees; government office holders, law enforcement figures, firemen, military active duty or veterans, and victims of mass murderers. It's hard to be sure how many victims of a mass murderer are needed to prevent the flag from being raised to normal height but it's more than two. 

In the case of a law enforcement officer who is also a military veteran, US flags in his state of residence will be raised to half-mast upon his internment and nationally during Peace Officers Memorial Day (May 15 in 2019) as well as Memorial Day. Eventually he will be honored, with others, at least twice a year, maybe forever.

Prominent members of the general public without a government background don't seem to qualify for this memorial.

A Forgotten Event

Americans seem to cherish many events in their short history, especially events of a military nature. Oddly, one of the most significant events occurred in 1667 but awareness of it has become rare.

From June 9-14, the Dutch fleet under Michiel de Ruyter sailed into the Thames Estuary and attacked the British warships anchored at Chatham, capturing three capital ships of the line, including the British flagship, the Royal Charles, and destroying ten others.

 The Royal Charles at Medway


The Dutch raid on the Medway was the greatest defeat in British naval history, one more disaster in the unlucky life of Stuart king, Charles II, and the impetus for the signing of the Treaty of Breda at that Dutch city on July 31. In this agreement the English agreed to give up any claim to the lucrative "spice islands" of the East Indies in exchange for the minor Dutch holdings on the east coast of North America. These colonies became New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Later, in 1674, both countries signed the Treaty of Westminster, which further delineated the terms of the previous accord.

In the absence of these happenings it's quite likely that the population of at least the eastern area of North America would be a Dutch-speaking land and very much different than it is today.

Paul Manship Sculpture Hidden Away

Paul Manship, 1885-1966, was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota but spent much of his working life in the eastern US. Widely known as one of the founders of the Art Deco movement, Manship's work decorates such places as the Rockefeller Center in New York City and is found in museums all over the world. At one time, one of twelve castings of his 1926 "Indian Hunter and Dog" was found near the Como Park Conservatory in St. Paul. Then it was removed. It turns out that the statue was reinstalled in Cochran Park, a small green spot at 375 Summit Ave. Presently there is no indication at the site who might have created it.