Feature story - June 27, 2008
Mister Splashy Pants just heard that two of his Greenpeace pals have been arrested. He, too, is amazed that they've been locked up for exposing the truth -- and he's going to do something about it. Are you?
Whalebreak: Free the Tokyo Two
Two Greenpeace activists expose an
embezzlement scandal involving whale meat which is costing
Japanese taxpayers millions of yen. Forty cops swoop down on the
Greenpeace offices to arrest the Greenpeace activists instead of
the criminals.
A global storm follows: hundreds of thousand of supporters write to the Japanese
government. Diplomatic protests are lodged by whale-friendly
governments. Vigils and demonstrations are held outside Japanese
embassies worldwide.
The story prompts people all around the world to take
extraordinary action. Now another hero steps up to do what must be
done. Help Mister Splashy Pants free the Tokyo Two.
Who is this Mister Splashy Pants dude, you ask? In the real
world, he's a humpback whale we
tracked with a satellite tag heading from the Solomon Islands
toward the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary -- that safe haven in
which the Japanese government kills around 1,000 whales every year
for "scientific research." He was named in an online
competition in which his share of the 100,000 votes clobbered
all rivals.
At the time, Japanese whalers were heading toward the Southern
Ocean planning to add humpbacks to the whale species they kill
every year. Public pressure from whale supporters worldwide brought
diplomatic protest to bear, however, and the
Japanese backed down on plans to kill humpbacks -- for now,
anyway. (They still kill minke and fin whales, but our
direct non-violent actions helped ensure they killed fewer of them
this year.)
Mister Splashy Pants was saved by whale activists like you,
Junichi and Toru. So he reckoned it was time to return the favour.
Help him out by spreading the word: Free the Tokyo
Two!
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