More or less?

According to a new Stanford-University of Washington study, the gray whale population has not actually rebounded from commercial whaling. I wonder. I have to admit that it's pretty cool that they can extrapolate that from genetic data.

One of the arguments for subsistence whaling by the Makah is that the gray whale population is at or near its carrying capacity, the largest number that the ecosystem can support. If these new data turn out to be reliable, that kind of undercuts that argument. Still, hunting bowheads in Alaska is not that controversial anymore, compared to 25 years ago, and the bowhead population is much more precarious than the gray whale population. It's also worth remembering that earlier academic estimates of the bowhead population were way off, which became clear when local experts participated in the bowhead census on the North Slope. In any case, in this learned non-biologist's opinion, aboriginal subsistence hunting doesn't make a significant dent in the gray whale or bowhead whale populations, especially compared with newer threats like climate change and overfishing, both key factors mentioned in the study.

Maybe the Corrupt Bastards Club can have a reunion in prison

Former Alaska House Speaker Pete Kott was found guilty of bribery, extortion, and conspiracy, oh my. The jury found him not guilty of wire fraud. The Federal Court will sentence him in December. I think this is just the beginning of legal troubles for Republican politicians in Alaska--the arrogance seems to be catching up to them. It'll be fun to watch--I'll bring the popcorn!

Nature Thrives in the DMZ

Apparently, the Korean demilitarized zone is also one of the most important wildlife refuges in Asia. I guess when you wall something off from the north and south and leave it alone, nature runs wild, to paraphrase former Alaska Gov. Wally Hickel. I'm a bit conflicted--as desirable as a peace treaty among the Koreas and the U.S. would be, it would be a shame to turn this pristine wilderness into a bunch of luxury condos and Starbuckses. Of course they'd have to clear the landmines before any of that happened.

This reminds me of the story a couple of years ago about penguins using minefields from the Falklands War as breeding grounds--they don't trip the landmines, and the humans aren't around to bug them.

So, I'll admit that occasionally some good happens as an ancillary effect of war, but maintain my position that war is bad. Very bad.

Two Great Tastes That Do Not Taste Great Together

You know, like chorizo and marzipan, or something similarly dissonant.

This has been around, but it bears mentioning that I love Dostoyevsky, and I love Batman, but Batman makes a lousy Raskol'nikov. True, both have feelings of righteousness and superiority. Batman, however, has a singleminded, maniacal compulsion to rid the world of crime, while Rodion Raskol'nikov had delusions of being an "extraordinary" man to whom the law didn't apply (I think--it's been a while since I read Crime and Punishment in college, and literary analysis was never my strong suit).

Lethargy Central

I'm feeling disinclined to do today's 12-mile run. Is it the nasty weather, or the fact that I was feeling kind of icky yesterday, or just general weekend laziness? Blargh. Chances are I'll go in an hour or two anyway.

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Final Score: Oregon 55, Stanford 31. Sigh. At least it felt pretty good at the half.

Underbloggery

Stanford is leading Oregon by 7 points at halftime. Sweeeeeet.

Well, vacation was amazing. I loved the long Labor Day weekend in and around Seattle, including a ferry ride to Bremerton, Pike Place, the Space Needle, and catching up with lots of folks. Then five wonderful days in Denver! Hiking, cooking, and relaxing were the order of the day. It's always rough to start back to work after such an awesome break.

Of course, I'm taking off again in a couple weeks for the Portland Marathon, with an accompanying week off. I'm in that fun stage of training, when the running tapers off before race day.

Lots and lots going on in the world. Five members of the Makah Tribe killed a grey whale, in a hunt that was sanctioned by neither the Tribe nor the federal government--not surprising, given the ridiculous Ninth Circuit Court ruling in Anderson v. Evans. The U.S. Senate, instead of voting to end the war, or, more realistically, cutting off funding for the war and de facto ending it, wasted valuable time voting on a resolution to condemn a MoveOn.org ad questioning Gen. Petraeus's honesty (they never bothered to swear in the good general when he testified, so it's not perjury). And Donald Rumsfeld is coming to Stanford to be a visiting Hoover Fellow--I can see why people are upset, but that's not something that can easily be stopped. Anyway, I don't see Rummy hanging out in the Quad or playing ultimate in the Oval. They had Edward Teller and Edwin Meese, so what's one more crazy Republican?

Alaska politics continues to be fun to watch. I still think it will take a LOT to unseat Ted Stevens or Don Young next year.