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.

German Subversion

The Catholic Diocese of St. Paul put the 90 year-old St. Andrews Church near Como Ave. and Lexington Ave. in the capital city up for sale in 2013. The property was purchased by the German Immersion School, a publicly funded charter school. This article, by pseudo-journalist Joey Peters, details the controversy since then in an article in the City Pages, a "cutting edge" subsidiary of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Never known for coherent content, it's described as an "alternative newspaper". Peters describes himself thusly: I'm a freelance reporter based in Minneapolis. My work has appeared in Reuters, NYTimes.com, Public Radio International, Columbia Journalism Review, KFAI Radio, Minneapolis/St. Paul City Pages, St. Paul Pioneer Press, MinnPost, Stateline and more. I previously served as senior reporter at NM Political Report and staff writer at the Santa Fe Reporter, both based in New Mexico.

The German Immersion School, now owner of the property, plans to demolish the church and replace it with a structure more suited to their current mission. This has roused the ire of locals who, as is normal in nimby St. Paul, don't wish to see the local landmark replaced with something of less significance.

The sale of the church was no secret and the local population, who, according to the article, greatly value the structure, could have gone to the trouble and expense of buying it themselves. They did not.

Interestingly, Peters' account of the controversy contains many emails  he maintains are between church administrators, contractors and others regarding the process of altering the property. At no time does Peters tell us how he came by what appears to be private communications between these parties, if, indeed, such emails are genuine.

As is often the case in matters such as this, the offended party has no monetary "skin in the game". They've offered no money to the German Immersion School to curtail its plans. They somehow hoped to simply  talk them into forgetting about the project and leaving the church pretty much exactly as it currently stands. They also feel that a growing number of students will raise traffic issues in the neighborhood, a few blocks from the city swimming pool, Como Park, the Como Lakeside Pavilion, soccer and baseball fields, a railroad main line, and more. 

In the late 19th century, St. Paul, home of Canadian immigrant James J. Hill, the Empire Builder, and founder of the Great Northern Railroad, experienced a building boom. Log cabins and tar-paper shacks were demolished to make way for the newest forms of architecture. If there was any objection to this process we are unaware of it today. Perhaps there were a few Victorian nimbys that resented the replacement of placid views of cabins with cloud obscuring multi-story granite buildings. But there were no historical preservation organizations or bureaucracies to stand in the way of progress then. The rights of property owners were also respected then.

University of Minnesota Won't Change Building Names

The regents of the University of Minnesota have decided, in a 10-1 vote, against renaming four campus buildings as recommended by a student/faculty task force, as described here.

The task force had found that the four individuals for whom the buildings had been named were in some sense bad people who did not deserve to be so honored. 

This may indeed be a matter of some importance but the reality is somewhat different than the substance of the argument. The fact is that the University is engaged in a never-ending search for more funding, both from increasing legislative appropriations and increased tuition, as well as contracts for exclusive access (Coca-Cola), event sponsorships, and other sources, all to finance a massive administrative machine. The naming rights for the football stadium were sold to Twin City Federal, a bank, for $35 million over 25 years. Other structures bear the names of individuals who donated significantly to their cost. It only makes sense to sell the naming rights to other buildings as well. Why not sell the space above the doors of Coffman Union to someone like Target Corporation, who is already in the name business at the Minnesota Twins ballpark and the Minnesota Timberwolves basketball arena? Other big businesses could surely be enticed to have their name and logo emblazoned on a campus building and the price wouldn't have to be in the millions. The TCF Stadium financing scheme costs students $25 a semester so every dollar counts.

Names On Their Backs

This from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition, page 563:

15.19 "Jr.," "Sr.," and the like. The abbreviations Jr. and Sr., as well as roman or arabic numerals such as II or 3rd, after a person's name are part of the name and so are retained in connection with any titles or honorifics. Note that these abbreviations are used only with the full name, never with the surname only. See also 6.49, 9.47.

Superstar Ken Griffey Jr. could not only hit a baseball, he knew something about composition and the English language.