Monkey Crime/Monkey Prison

Did you know that there is a monkey prison in the Motibagh Bir Zoological Park in Patiala, India? Apparently, there is a monkey menace in India, and these violent, thieving primates are locked up, sometimes for life.

The Seattle Times reported:

Monkeys have invaded government ministries in New Delhi, ridden elevators and climbed along windowsills. Monkeys slapped students inside a girls school in a south Bengal suburb. A gang of monkeys in the city of Chandigarh ripped up lawns, broke flowerpots and yanked sheets off beds.

Some monkeys, mostly loners, have bitten people, injuring and even killing small children.

The good news is that killing monkeys in India is forbidden, so the country has resorted to a prison. I am not sure if this prison provides any hope of deterrence or rehabilitation (although some monkeys have been released for good behavior), but retribution would seem to be covered.

I am also not sure if there is any sort of legal process, or if these primates are considered guilty without trial after being arrested. Yes, they are arrested. I wonder if there will be a movement for monkey rights, as there was recently in New Zealand. Should they be read Miranda-type rights when arrested?

Sadly, part of this problem might be the fault of humans. Some people believe that thieves have trained monkeys to steal and some monkeys have been trained as guards. Later, these monkeys are abandoned when they become violent.

Personally, I think the idea of a monkey prison is stupid. Surely, they ought to make an effort to rehabilitate these monkeys, rather than locking them up.

Million Dollar Baby, Tom Hanks, Simian Porn, and Same-sex Marriage

The Movie

I felt like I was watching Rocky albeit with an unRocky-like ending. Hillary was quite good, as was Clint, although he reminds me of a friend of my dad's, except that my dad's friend is missing part of his forehead. I believe a huge swath of cancerous skin was removed. It's quite difficult to not look at it.

I do like Morgan Freeman, but he seems to always play the same character. Part way through the film, I started to wonder where Miss Daisy was. I feel the same way about Tom Hanks. It's not that he is a bad actor. Well, to be honest, I think he is very mediocre. I cannot suspend my disbelief: I just see Tom Hanks on the screen. So, I suggest that from now on, he just be cast as Tom Hanks. His name should be Tom Hanks in every movie. Don't you think it would have been more interesting if it had been Tom Hanks, and not some fictional courier guy, who was stranded in Castaway?

Monkey Pornography

Did you hear that some scientists have proven that monkeys like to watch porn? They found that monkeys will give up their juice rations to see images of female monkey butts and the faces of dominant males (they likened that to an interest in paparazzi) on computer screens. Does this mean that there will soon be monkey porn sites on the web?

Same-sex Marriage

I am dismayed by the results of the recent National Post/Global survey that found 66% of Canadians favour the "traditional" definition of marriage. Can we really be that insensitive? This is a basic human rights issue. I know a lot of gay people, and I am upset by these results. Of course, you never know who the Post interviewed. No mention of who the survey group was comprised of is mentioned. Maybe it was National Post readers. That group is not representative of the Canadian population.

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