There’s a lot of talk about the annual East Coast seal culling. I will be investigating the issue through a series of media sources, historical research, and personal opinion.

The first newspaper editorial is from the Times Colonist of Victoria, BC:

Do Canadians really need another rock star telling us how to run our country? In a word, no.

This week, seal hunters in the Gulf of St. Lawrence had to put up with Sir Paul McCartney and his wife Heather, along with a media entourage, travelling to the ice floes to try to convince the federal government that the seal hunt is wrong.

Did Sir Paul suggest what the seal hunters should do for employment if they are not allowed to hunt seals? No.

Last year, we endured Bono, from the rock band U2, blathering on about how Canada and other countries should devote 0.7 per cent of the gross national income to helping the poorest nations get on their feet.

Was there a clear, workable plan of action? No.

For some strange reason, fame and fortune seems to affect the way these people think. They may know how to play a musical instrument or two, and they may know how to sing. They aren’t qualified to run countries, though. If they truly believe they are, they should run for office. Failing that, they should go back into the recording studio where they belong.

We’re not defending the seal hunt, and we’re not saying that the world’s poor should be left to starve.

We do believe, however, that decisions on helping the poor should be made by people who know what they’re talking about, and spending should be based on practical, viable plans.

And we believe that decisions on the seal hunt should be based on science and sound economic thinking, not drive-by commentary from a singer.

We’d love to hear more from Sir Paul, of course. As long as he’s singing, not whining.

Times Colonist. “Maybe we’re amazed.” Times Colonist [Victoria, BC] 04 Mar. 2006, final ed.: A14.

This ClashBang.com article was written by Chris Chu. Tired of privately venting his frustration in vain, Chris decided to share his discontent with the rest of the world.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 30th, 2006 at 12:26 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.