One of my friends sent me a link, a couple of weeks ago. I finally got around to seeing it. The link graphically describes some kind of modern adaptation of the ancient Egyptian methods of what has been termed as mummification.
Only that the subjects are ancient Egypt?s most sacred beasts ? beasts that caused Anck-su-Namun?s suitor Imhotep recoil in fear (i.e. cats, if you have missed that Bollywoodesque Egyptian saga ? The Mummy and its sequel). This site is so awful that I dashed off a mail to PETA. And I got this automated reply from them.
(Note: This following reply from PETA has not been edited in any manner whatsoever. The only changes have been for making sure that the links are clickable. The original mail from PETA contained the actual web addresses which wouldn't be highlighted on this Blog.)
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Subject: Bonsai website information
Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 18:52:34 -0500
From: "info"
To: "Ananthanarayanan Subramanian"
Dear Friend,
Thank you for contacting us about BonsaiKitten.com. We share your disgust with this disturbing Web site and are extremely concerned about its influence. We have received word that the FBI has decided to investigate this web site. This has come as a direct result of calls and emails that have been flooding their offices. Please let them know that you are concerned as well. You can file a complaint at the following Web site: www.ifccfbi.gov.
This is a reporting center Web site set up by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) for Internet fraud and other forms of Internet crime. Although we have found this site to be a "joke," we still feel it is inappropriate and certainly not funny. The Humane Society
of the United States (HSUS) investigated the origin of the site and found that the name and address under which the site is registered, a "Dr. Michael Wong in New York," is false information. The site was reportedly created by a student at M.I.T, as a joke among friends. When this site initially appeared in December, a local humane organization did get involved on a local level in checking out this person but discovered no evidence of actual animal abuse having occurred. We believe that the Web site's creator was simply trying to generate attention by upsetting people who care about animals.
So far, it has been an uphill battle, as the only law that even remotely covers issues like this is a law that covers e-mailed obscenities; therefore, if the site is not in violation of the host's user agreement, no law is being violated, and the site can remain up. As you may know, this site has been closed down several times before but continues to reappear with different Web addresses. We are hopeful that with enough complaints filed with the FBI, stressing the influence it may have on cases of actual cruelty, it will be removed permanently.
While the cruelty depicted on this Web site is a sick joke, the reality is that billions of animals suffer horrendously cramped conditions in factory farms. Chickens, calves, and pigs are crammed into cages so small they cannot turn or stretch. Veal calves ("byproducts" of the milk industry) are chained in small crates for the duration of their short lives, chickens are squeezed into cages with no more space than a folded newspaper, and pregnant and nursing pigs are caged so they can barely move. For more information about how animals suffer on factory farms, go to this link and this one. Thank you again for taking the time to contact us about this issue and for all you do to help animals.
Sincerely,
PETA Staff
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The Net has perhaps become a melting point for information from various genres. It is perhaps imperative that we behave responsibly before posting information. That way, we do not need virtual policing. But that is just what is needed for the real world too. And when this does not really happen in the real world, it is not really reasonable to expect this to happen on the Net in a jiffy. However this can at least start by each of us trying to keep our contributions to the virtual world clean in every sense of the world.
Quote of the Day: "Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to get leisure." (Benjamin Franklin)
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