oOsoupOo Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 I emailed some people and got the hook ups... an email from a friend : by Declan McCullagh 10:10 a.m. Feb. 9, 2001 PST WASHINGTON -- A website devoted to squishing kittens into Mason jars is one of two things: A trenchant parody designed to provoke, or a nefarious kitty-mutilation scheme that must be stopped, and probably outlawed. Count the FBI among the many visitors to bonsaikitten.com who are anything but amused at the descriptions of how to use muscle relaxant, feeding tubes and Klein bottles to shape a perfect Bonsai Cat. FBI agents in the Boston field office have launched an investigation into the site. They also have served MIT with a grand jury subpoena asking for "any and all subscriber information" about the site, which was initially hosted in a campus dormitory but has since moved to a commercial provider. MIT said in a letter to bonsaikitten.com's pseudonymous webmaster, a graduate student using the alias Dr. Michael Wong Chang, that it will wait until Sunday to turn over records that would identify him by name. "I was surprised," Chang said. "I really thought that the FBI had better things to do. That's your tax dollars at work." Bonsaikitten.com is, of course, a joke devised by prankster MIT students -- who else would talk about "rectilinear kittens?" -- to provoke owners of kittens, an adorably fuzzy topic that's usually beyond parody. Bonsaikitten.com offers to sell visitors a custom-shaped kitten -- the site says "typical wait time for a fully shaped Bonsai Kitten is 3 to 4 months" -- but the site does not list prices or a mailing address for where to send money orders. It does, however, occasionally receive requests for more information. It also has sparked tens of thousands of hate-mail messages, anti-Bonsai Kitten groups on Yahoo, and even a blistering denunciation from the venerable Humane Society of the United States. For the site's fans, watching e-mail nastygrams arrive has become a kind of spectator sport: There's even a mailing list that lets bonsaikitten.com aficionados view any mail sent to the site's webmaster. A typical message: "This site is horrible! You should go in a mental hospital! You son of a bitch! I'll do my best to shut down this site and your disgusting hobby!" A gun-toting investigator from the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reportedly stopped by campus and quizzed MIT network administrators about the intent of the site. Under state law, MSPCA investigators are deputized as "special state police officers" with investigation and arrest abilities. The combined efforts of animal rights proponents, including such ardent activists as the closed-subscription "meowmies" group, seem to have prompted the FBI to launch its investigation. "Why are they doing this?" asks Harvey Silverglate, a prominent Boston criminal defense attorney. "I think the answer is that political correctness has infected the FBI." "The kind of fanatical end of the spectrum animal protection movement has affected them," says Silverglate, a partner at Silverglate and Good. "They want to be the good guys. They massively run rampant over Americans' liberties but they want to be seen as nice fuzzy guys who want to protect kittens." Silverglate predicts that when the FBI realizes bonsaikitten.com is not serious, the bureau will quietly abandon its investigation. Ellen Kearns, an FBI agent in the bureau's Lakeville, Massachusetts office who is involved in the investigation, could not be reached for comment. Nadine Pellegrini, the assistant U.S. Attorney who signed the subpoena, refused to discuss the investigation. "I'm making no comment," Pellegrini said. The subpoena does not discuss what law the bonsaikitten.com operators allegedly violated. But Pellegrini hinted that it was based on a relatively recent federal statute: "I would assume there's a case, if there's a law, but I'm not making any comment." In December 1999, President Clinton signed a law that makes it a federal felony to possess "a depiction of animal cruelty" with the intent to distribute across state lines -- such as on the Internet. During a floor debate, Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) claimed that "sick criminals are taking advantage of the loopholes in the local law and the lack of federal law on animal cruelty videos." The law, which observers at the time said probably violated the First Amendment, only applies to images, videos, and sound recordings that are distributed "for commercial gain" -- and bonsaikitten.com's tongue-in-cheek descriptions of mail-order cats in bottles appears to have given the FBI sufficient justification for an investigation. The national Humane Society, based in Washington, applauded the FBI's efforts. "If the FBI is looking into this, that's great," said spokeswoman Karen Allanach. "Anything to discourage animal cruelty would be very helpful. Allanach said she's not sure if the site is a parody -- and even if it isn't, it should be taken offline because it could encourage people to experiment on their own household pets. "It's totally promoting animal cruelty," Allanach said. "They consider it a sick joke. People will take it seriously. Animal cruelty is not funny. Animal torture is not funny. We would like bonsaikitten.com to be removed permanently." When asked whether someone has the First Amendment right to advocate for animal cruelty, Allanach replied: "That's a great question. That's at the heart of a lot of debate." Jered Floyd, a recent MIT graduate, says animal rights activists -- who have successfully pressured hosting services to ban bonsaikitten.com until rotten.com offered it server space -- don't have a sense of humor. "The First Amendment protects all speech, no matter how offensive some people may find it," Floyd says. "The site is clearly a humorous endeavor. The fact that a number of people seem to have very little sense of humor isn't relevant." A letter dated Feb. 1 from MIT lawyer Jeff Swope says that federal law requires the university to notify students when it receives subpoenas for information about them. It says that "pursuant to that legal process, MIT will produce such information, no earlier than Feb. 11, 2001." also see: http://urbanlegends.about.com/science/urba...s=bonsai+kitten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Rage- Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 Oh my god... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PIRone716 Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 i mean yeah thats fucked up,but can't people take a fucking joke anymore ? ------------------ your ghetto if you pee in the shower... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willy!wonka Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 I signed thier guestbook like I admired them in every way...I told them I had a collection of over fifty cats and the one that look ugly i bury... I lead them to believe I was serious and that i used to run over buried to thier head cats with my lawn mowwer... then I lead them to believe I was a total phsyco and how they are just like me in a sence.... It was a mutalated story...hope they see the madness of it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willy!wonka Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 Originally posted by PIRone716: i mean yeah thats fucked up,but can't people take a fucking joke anymore ? some things arent funny...... well unless of course you're sick... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski Mask Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 I realize its a joke...but shit...who finds that funny? what kind of person sits around and goes "hey! I know what I'll do for a joke...I'll make a fake website for a company that sells dead kittens formed into the shape of a jar! that should get alot of laughs!" I dont get that kind of absolutely tasteless humor....anyone wanna help me out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PIRone716 Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 some people are just fucked like that.i thought it was sick and was wondering where the fuck,they would get an idea like that.but nevertheless its a joke,a sick one.i understand what you are sayin though.i guess it just takes a really fucked person to do something like that... ------------------ your ghetto if you pee in the shower... [This message has been edited by PIRone716 (edited 06-15-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest the heebie jeebies Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 Originally posted by ese: I realize its a joke...but shit...who finds that funny? what kind of person sits around and goes "hey! I know what I'll do for a joke...I'll make a fake website for a company that sells dead kittens formed into the shape of a jar! that should get alot of laughs!" I dont get that kind of absolutely tasteless humor....anyone wanna help me out? they were MIT students. of course they would do this. college kids with lots of intelligence and lots of money. a good situation to suggest certain ideas and imagery and provoke people with it. duh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest platapie Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 willy the police are gonna knock your fucking door down. hahahahahahaa. hide the kiddie porn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AeRoS0ul Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 Is it by any chance a protest/parady for twisty cats ? (this is really who the FBI should go after) They intentionally breed cats to have a gene which changes the shape of the cats feet. lemmie see if i can scrounge some pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AeRoS0ul Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1710568&a=13142521&p=50440891'> And ive seen worse on tv. thats not even that big of a defect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Face Me Face Death Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 Originally posted by AeRoS0ul: http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1710568&a=13142521&p=50440891'> And ive seen worse on tv. thats not even that big of a defect this cat looks like it belongs on the short bus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willy!wonka Posted June 17, 2001 Share Posted June 17, 2001 Originally posted by platapie: willy the police are gonna knock your fucking door down. hahahahahahaa. hide the kiddie porn. hahahaha....how did you know of my kiddie porn?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smart Posted June 17, 2001 Share Posted June 17, 2001 Oh... I always thought you were talking about KITTY PORN... ------------------ 2 Can Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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