Half full, Half empty

I'm receiving a lot of requests for comments about this week's meeting of the Chair's Support Group of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) which has been meeting in Washington DC this week.

I'm telling everyone that I want to be very careful with what I say, because it's tough to determine whether a glass is half full or half empty. And of course, it's almost impossible to say before you've tasted it whether the beverage in the glass tastes good, or even if it's drinkable. And the compromise proposal due to be tabled at the next annual meeting of the IWC won't be made public for another few days.

I expect I'll have more to say soon. Meanwhile I recommend Richard Black's piece from last night. As always, Richard is very sobber when he writes. A number of details (and other aspects) are missing of course, but it remains an excellent account of where we're at.