It's worth pointing out that Iceland is not alone. Norway and Japan also hunt whales, and have not suffered noticeably from it. I can't imagine the British government protesting to Norway just after they opened up a pipeline that reduced our dependence on Russian gas.

But I'm more interested in why. And the only answer I can see is "because they can"- playing "nobody understands us, let's smash the bus shelter" on an international scale. A feeling that the world is out to crush their tiny culture, and the only way to hit back is to do something spectacular, but not particularly dangerous to themselves.

It's childish, and it's about time these destructive nationalists grew up.

As someone said elsewhere, if hunting whales is a tradition, do it in the traditional way, with iron harpoons and an open rowing boat.