No, I’m not talking about Sonia Sotomayor – who I’m really not in the mood to comment on.
Instead, I want to give a shout-out to Michaëlle Jean, the Governor General of Canada (Queen Elizabeth II’s representative in the country), who has come under fire from mean-spirited environmentalist radicals.
If you haven’t heard the story, Gov. Gen. Jean recently made a trip to the Arctic region of Canada – where the local Inuit community took her on a seal hunt. After they shot a seal, they threw a big feast and offered Jean the traditional honor of eating a piece of the animal’s heart (considered a delicacy). Being a good head of state, Jean obliged them by slicing open the dead seal, cutting off a piece of the heart, and eating it.
Naturally, this ritual shocked and horrified greenies around the world – especially considering that Canadian sealskin imports were recently banned by the European Union (who apparently don’t like it when cute little seals get whacked).
All kidding aside – the radicals fail to see that seal meat is an important source of nutrition for the Inuit, and seal for them is no different than beef for us. It’s not about killing animals for the heck of it, it’s about food.
For her part, Gov. Gen. Jean is standing by her actions and rejecting cries of those who want to come between the Inuit and a valuable food source. She is a true public servant, and I only wish our leaders here in America had that kind backbone.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A GREAT NEWS REPORT ON JEAN’S RESPONSE TO THE CONTROVERSY.
May 29th, 2009 at 12:46 am
Urghhhhhh
so wrong
May 29th, 2009 at 4:18 am
Once in a while something good comes out of Canada. At least they have a good GG and a good PM.
May 29th, 2009 at 7:45 am
Palin/Jean 2012!!!!!!
Just kidding, but it’s good to see that someone can still put decency and tradition ahead of PC enviro-wackism.
May 29th, 2009 at 8:12 am
Sweeeeet!
… ewwww…
May 29th, 2009 at 9:13 am
You can. But, if you think even 10 percent of Americans support clubbing baby seals for, primarily, their furs, you’re either politically tonedeaf or delusional. To suggest that “it’s about food”, the banning of “an important source of nutrition for the Inuit” is incredibly disingenuous. This is about the EU banning the import of seal fur coats, and to a lesser extent, omega-3 pills. The AP reported: “The new EU rule will offer narrow exemptions to Inuit communities from Canada and Greenland and elsewhere to continue their traditional hunts but bars them from large-scale trading of their pelts and other seal goods in Europe. Another exemption will permit noncommercial, “small-scale” hunts to manage seal populations, but seal products from those hunts will not be allowed to enter the EU.”
Mary Katherine Ham was right. Sarah Palin has met her competition.
UPDATE:
Canadian Chefs Serve Seal, With a Side of Controversy
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/dining/01seal.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
Seal meat becomes tasty delicacy in Canada after Europe bans imports: report
http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/food/2009/07/01/2009-07-01_seal_meat_becomes_tasty_delicacy_in_canada_after_europe_bans_imports_report.html#ixzz0K3mJr7sS&C
May 29th, 2009 at 9:55 am
So you read Canadian newspapers too Aron. I am glad you are looking beyond the Toronto Star.
May 29th, 2009 at 10:14 am
The left shows great respect for the cultural practices of indigenous peoples … except when they don’t.