Hey Simone just found your Christmas email at hotmail

Hello Roselyn!!! How are you?? I`ve been fine.I spent my Christmas working because here in Japan they don`t celebrate Christmas. Oh yes!! I`m still here in Japan!! I still didn`t go back to Brazil. And how was your Christmas?!! Did you meet with your parents?I miss the days I was in Brisbane!! We`ve had good times. I won`t forget your funny cousin!!Give my regards to him and his wife.Well, I just have been studying english reading books, writing to some friends and watching some videos on You Tube!!! Hahaha!! I think I still can understand you, my friend!!!An what about the new year?? Where are you going to spend it? Well, I`m planning to go to meet some friends and eat a lot of food!!I hope to hear from you soon!!Take care of your healthy!!Kisses and Hugs!!Simone

Hey Kev and Val, Simone sends her regards.

Diga NÃO à caça às baleias: em busca do Nishin-maru
A frota baleeira japonesa "Nishin-maru", que pretende matar cerca de mil baleias na Antártica, partiu semana passada do porto de Shimonoseki, do sul do Japão, rumo às geleiras. O governo japonês alega fins científicos, mas já foi comprovado que não é necessário sacrificar nenhuma baleia para obter informações sobre seu ciclo de vida.
O Greenpeace (ONG em defesa do meio ambiente), está na cola dos japoneses com seu navio Esperanza, para evitar que uma tragédia aconteça. Uma bióloga brasileira (Leandra Gonçalves) faz parte da equipe, e através de seu blog, é possível acompanhar o desenrolar dos acontecimentos. Vocês podem encontrar o blog e mais notícias através do site http://www.greenpeace.org.br/.
Uma pesquisa realizada com os japoneses, revelou que 95% nunca comeram ou raramente comem carne de baleia. Por isso, para os estrangeiros que moram aqui no Japão, não incentivem à caça: não consumam carne de baleia. Nós nos deparamos com a dificuldade de não entender a caligrafia japonesa. Então, ao comprar carne nos mercados, tenha certeza do tipo de carne que está comprando.
Vamos lutar e torcer para que haja um final feliz para nossas baleias!!!

Whale activists 'captured'

THE war between whalers and protesters escalated last night when two activists — an Australian and a Briton — stormed a Japanese ship and were detained on board by crew members.
The drama at sea came hours after the Federal Court in Sydney found that whaling in Australian Antarctic waters was illegal — a ruling that could place pressure on the Rudd Government to take more action to stop the hunt.
In a daring protest, Australian Benjamin Potts, 28, and Briton Giles Lane, 35, boarded the moving Japanese whale catcher, Yushin Maru No. 2, just inside the Australian Antarctic Sanctuary in the Southern Ocean. The pair, from the Sea Shepherd protest vessel Steve Irwin, were reported to have been tied to the whaling ship's radar mast and left out in the cold for several hours after delivering a letter to the captain saying that the crew was "illegally killing whales".
Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research confirmed that two activists had been "taken into custody" and were being held in a "secure room" on the ship.
But the head of the institute, Minoru Morimoto, denied the men had been tied up. "Any accusations that we have tied them up or assaulted them are completely untrue," he said.
"It is illegal to board another country's vessels on the high seas. As a result, at this stage, they are being held in custody while decisions are made on their future." Link