Moby Dick

subito dopo l'estate mi sono messa a leggere Moby Dick. bellissimo. molto, troppo cruento. non sono riuscita a finirlo perche' non potevo sopportare tutti quei dettagli e passavo sconvolta gli ultimi minuti prima di addormentarmi.


credo che, malgrado tutto, anche Melville stesso fosse colpito da questa barbarie.


mi è rimasto impresso un capitolo in cui Stubb (se non ricordo male) mangia una bistecca di balena da lui appena ammazzata alla luce dell'olio della povera bestia.


Melville è disgustato da questa cosa e va anche oltre... A tal proposito scrive:

It is not, perhaps, entirely because the whale is so excessively unctuous that landsmen seem to regard the eating of him with abhorrence; that appears to result, in some way, from the consideration before mentioned: i.e. that a man should eat a newly murdered thing of the sea, and eat it too by its own light. But no doubt the first man that ever murdered an ox was regarded as a murderer; perhaps he was hung; and if he had been put on his trial by oxen, he certainly would have been; and he certainly deserved it if any murderer does. Go to the meatmarket of a Saturday night and see the crowds of live bipeds staring up at the long rows of dead quadrupeds. Does that sight take a tooth out of cannibal’s jaw? Cannibals? Who is not a cannibal? I tell you it will be more tolerable for the Fejee that salted down a lean missionary in his cellar against a coming famine; it will be more tolerable for that provident Feeje, I say, in the day of judgment, than for thee, civilized and enlightened gourmand, who nailest geese to the ground and feastest on their bloated livers in thy pate-de-foie-gras.



in Danimarca, Giappone, Islanda, Norvegia, Santa Lucia invece se ne fregano ancora e ammazzano cetacei a piu' non posso.

su http://www.seashepherd.org/ ho trovato un po' di indirizzi a cui mandare delle lettere di protesta.


Vi prego, vi prego, vi prego scrivete a:

Whale Killing Countries:

Danish Faeroe Islands

High Commissioner of the Faeroe Islands

Ms. Søren Christensen
Amtmansbrekkan 6FO-110 Tórshavn PO Box 12 Faeroe Islands
Tel: +298-351200
E-mail: riomfr@fo.stm.dk

Prime Minister of Denmark

Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Christiansborg Prins Jørgens Gård 111218 Copenhagen Denmark
tel: +45 33 92 33 00
Fax +45 33 11 16 65
E-mail: stm@stm.dk

Japan

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda 1-6-1 Nagata-choChiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8968 JAPAN

Tel: +81-3-5253-2111
E-mail: Kanteihp-info@cas.go.jp
Public Relations Fax: +81-3-3581-3883

Minister of Fisheries 1-2-1 Ksumigaseki Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8907 JAPAN

Tel: +81-3-3502-8111
Fax: +81-3-3502-0794

Iceland

Prime Minister of Iceland
Stjornarradshusinu vid Laekjartorg 150 Reykjavik Iceland
Tel: +354-545-8400
Fax: +354-562-4014
E-mail: postur@for.stjr.is

icelandic Ministry of Fisheries
Árni M. Mathiesen
Minister of Fisheries
E-mail: fisheries@fisheries.is

Norway

Prime Minister of Norway

Kjell Magne Bondevik
The Office of the Prime Minister P.O.Box 8001 DepN-0030 Oslo
Tel: +47-22-24-90-90
Fax: +47-22-24-95-00
E-mail: postmottak@smk.dep.no

Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs
Svein Ludvigsen
Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs P.O. Box 8118 Dep0032 Oslo
Tel: +47-22-24-90-90
Fax: +47-22-24-95-85
E-mail: postmottak@fkd.dep.no





St. Lucia

Prime Minister of St. Lucia
Hon. Dr. Kenny D. Anthony
5th Floor, Greaham Louisy Administrative Building Waterfront, Castries Saint Lucia, West Indies
Tel: +758-468-2111 or +758-468-2101
Fax: +758-453-7352
Email: mailto:pmoffice@candw.lc

Department of Fisheries
Mr. Vaughn Charles
Acting Chief Fisheries OfficerPointe Seraphine, CastriesSaint Lucia
Tel: +758-468-4135 or +758-450-2078
Fax: +758-450-2287
E-mail: deptfish@slumaffe.org or chieffish@slumaffe.org






ESEMPIO DI LETTERA:

I am outraged by the annual brutal slaughter of dolphins and whales that takes place in Japan. The images of bloody red water clearly show the world that Japan has little respect for the state of the world’s oceans and for the conservation of the marine resources it claims to support.
Many scientific studies show that the oceans are in decline. We must take whatever actions are necessary to stop their over-exploitation and to protect the creatures that live in them. These dolphins do not belong to Japan. The status of the species of dolphins and whales that you kill are either endangered, threatened, or unknown. It is an unthinkable waste that they will likely end up as a meat product or deceptively sold as whale meat, polluted with toxic levels of mercury and cadmium, killing people that eat it. It is tragic and unacceptable that the remaining dolphins that are not killed will end up destined for death in an aquarium, water park, or "swim with dolphins" program.
In addition, the methods used to kill these animals are cruel. Corralling the dolphins into bays, then making them suffer a long and painful death by spears, hooks, and drowning is an inhumane way of fishing. This action is disgraceful and has caused much disappointment in the international community.
We demand that Japan permanently and immediately renounce and stop this slaughter. We will work diligently to bring this issue to international light until you have ceased your reprehensible violence.
Sincerely,