Japan Starts Annual Mass Killing of Whales

Japanese fleet spotted harpooning whales inside sanctuary: Sea Shepherd Australia

Sea Shepherd Australia said today they had captured images of Japanese whaling fleet killing protected whales inside an internationally recognized whale sanctuary.

Anti-whaling activists spotted a  fleet of five vessels harpooning and processing at least 4 whales south east of Tasmania on the edge of the Ross sea.

Aerial photos of harpooned whales being processed on the deck of Nisshin Maru, a Japanese whaling vessel, in waters southeast of Tasmania.  Credit: Tim Watters of Sea Shepherd. The group said they knew a fourth whale  had also been killed.

“It’s just a gruesome, bloody, medieval scene which has got no place in this modern world,” said Sea Shepherd Australia chairman Bob Brown.

Dr Brown has questioned Abbott government’s resolve against whaling, after the Environment Minister, Greg Hunt, backed away on an election promise to send a Customs ship to monitor the Japanese fleet.

Bloodbath on Nisshin Maru. Credit Tim Watters of Sea Shepherd

“We’ve got a federal court ruling that this whaling is illegal and injunction to stop it,” Brown told reporters. “I don’t know of any other entity or person in Australia who could simply thumb its nose at the Australian Federal Court with an Australian government saying we won’t police it.”

“This criminal behavior by these Japanese whale killers is taking place in front of the whole world, while the Australian and New Zealand governments sit on their hands,” he said.

Related Links

• Whale Watch

States of Emergency Declared in NW Indiana, Tennessee

EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS
.

Northwest Indiana and Tennessee declare states of emergency due to extreme conditions

Indiana Gov. Pence has ordered all state government offices to remain closed Monday, as more snow is forecast for the region.

“I am limiting the number of employees who must report to work on Monday to help keep people off the roads and out of the extreme cold, even while we make sure that Hoosiers have access to necessary government services,” said Pence.

Tennessee

In Tennessee, The Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) declared a state of emergency as the frigid cold front moved through the region.

“Temperatures are also beginning to fall dramatically in the region. At Nashville International Airport, temperatures dropped 8 degrees from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. and even further after that. In Clarksville, temperatures sunk from 51 degrees to 29 in two hours time,” said a report.

The Polar Vortex Causing Life-Threatening Wind Chill

“The polar vortex, a mid-upper level cyclonic feature normally present over northern Canada, will be displaced unusually far to the south over the northern Great Lakes and southern Ontario. Owing to the deep layer of the cold air mass, this will provide for an incredibly strong surge of bitterly cold Arctic Air along with gusty winds. The Upper Midwest will be affected first by Saturday night, and the brutal conditions will continue pushing southeastward to the Ohio Valley and Mid-South by Monday, and to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic by Tuesday. Particularly noteworthy will be the extreme wind chills and nearly unheard-of daytime highs that are forecast. A huge expanse of wind chill warnings are in effect from Montana all the way to the central Appalachians, with wind chills on the order of -20 to -50 degrees expected!” NWS said.

IR Satellite Image, GOES N America, Jan. 6, 2014 @ 01:15UTC. Colder objects are brighter and warmer objects are darker. Lower layers of clouds, generally warmer and lower in altitude, are colored gray. Colder and generally higher clouds tops are highlighted in colors. Source: SSD/ NOAA GOES satellites

Monday’s lows are forecast to plunge below -15 degrees (-26ºC) with wind chills as low as  -50 (-46ºC), with temperatures  across the Fox Valley falling as low as -60 (-51ºC).

“Ahead of the Arctic blast, a developing surface low along the cold front will result in widespread snow from Missouri to the Ohio Valley and into the Great Lakes. Areas that have persistent snow bands may receive on the order of 8 to 14 inches of snow, with locally higher amounts,” said NWS.

Record-breaking cold is forecast for  much of Eastern US: NWS

U.S. Weather Hazards Map (Hazmap)  for Monday, January 6, 2014. Issued at 14:54UTC. Source: NWS. Map Enhanced by FIRE-EARTH. UPDATE

Warnings, Watches and Advisories

Dozens of Warnings, Watches and Advisories are currently in effect across the eastern two-thirds of the country, with the Wind Chill Warning, and Hard Freeze Warning, which plague the Gulf Coast states, impacting vast areas.

Impact

FIRE-EARTH Models show impacts of the Arctic blast are affecting about 250 million people across 40 states.

Related Links

• Giga Arctic Blast Affecting 250 Million in 40 States January 5, 2014

• UPDATED: Deadly Cold Plagues U.S. January 5, 2014
• Deadly Cold Plagues U.S. January 5, 2014
• States of Emergency Declared in New York, New Jersey January 3, 2014
• Major Winter Storm to Batter Midwest, Northeast January 2, 2014