GorillaOffTopic, Everything But Gorilla Trades

The Gorilla talks a lot about different issues regarding animals simply because he considers himself an advocate for them, and he wants to draw attention to animal rights. The Gorilla, being a primate himself, knows well that the animals cannot speak for themselves and cannot defend themselves and so we have been appointed as their advocates, their defense, and their voice. It is our duty as humans (and primates!) to take action when animals are being abused, hurt, or exploited.  The Gorilla would like to draw some more attention to the continuing saga playing out in Japan over the massive number of dolphins that are being brutally killed for their meat. When we think of dolphins, we think of a beautiful caring creature- one that has been a caretaker of sorts of its human counterparts. It is an animal that is considered to be as intelligent as any of the higher primates (such as gorillas) and as compassionate as some humans. We think about Flipper, and many of the fun, funny, and intelligent creatures we see at Sea World. A dolphin is a creature that is eager to please humans, is completely harmless, and deserves our respect and protection.  Unfortunately, in Japan, these wonderful creatures are regarded to many as food and only as food. To the fisherman in Taiji, Japan, dolphins are a business; a way of making a living and something to be hunted and slaughtered for meat. After all, it’s a 400 year-old tradition in that country. Who are any of us, to come into their lives and their home, and tell them to stop? Actually, who are we NOT to? Just because something is a tradition, should that make it somehow acceptable?  There are many barbaric “traditions” that have existed for hundred, even thousands of years in different cultures, such as burning women at the stake who were considered “witches” or genital mutilation in women in some cultures. In the present day, we know better, and much like these unacceptable traditions, there is no need or excuse for the slaughtering of dolphins. In the small town of Taiji, there are only about 3,000 people and many of them eat dolphin meat. The dolphins are hunted daily there. The fishermen drive them into bays or alcoves and then hook them with a large barb and let them bleed to death. The fear they feel is apparent and the screams and cries can be clearly heard form a distance, as the entire alcove turns red from the blood. These are intelligent creatures. They know what is happening before it happens. It is cruel and inexcusable-not to mention extremely unhealthy to consume the meat.  Dolphin meat contains extremely high levels of mercury, making the meat a health risk to certain individuals. Thankfully, that may be the one saving grace for these creatures. Ric O’barry is a retired dolphin trainer from Miami and has worked with the animals his entire life. He now resides in Taiji, where he has regularly borne witness to the daily slaughters. He often disguises himself so that he doesn’t appear to be a Westerner so that he can film the hunts to draw attention to them for groups like PETA and for the Japanese government. ”This here is ground zero for the largest slaughter of dolphins on planet Earth,” says O’Barry, who trained five dolphins to play “Flipper” on the TV series of that name. “It’s absolutely barbaric and it needs to stop. It takes a very long time to die. They bleed to death. And some of them are dragged in the boats with hooks while they’re still alive,” he says. “Many of them are gutted while they’re still alive.”    Unfortunately, there are larger questions of culture and perspective. It is not just about how inhumane it is. Many Japanese are puzzled at the Westerners’ outlook on the hunting. They don’t understand how Americans could slaughter a chicken or a cow and give them a hard time about killing dolphins. Japan has been feeling the heat for many years regarding its massive whaling industry as well, so they are no strangers to controversy when it comes to the fishing industry.  The new President of Australia is outraged by the industry and is trying to make changes in the laws that protect whales from slaughter. Meanwhile, although most Taiji city officials defend the right to slaughter dolphins due to an age-old tradition, many Japanese citizens are opposed to the practice and are steadily fighting the battle to have it stopped. One of Taiji’s local city councilman is trying to put a stop to the consumption of dolphin meat in local schools- after all bottlenose dolphin meat contains 12 times more mercury than blue fin tuna — high levels of mercury in fish can cause health problems in pregnant women and young children. The councilman even plucked one of his own beard hairs to have it tested for mercury and found that it contained seven times as much mercury as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers safe. Could this be the saving grace for these wonderful creatures? Let us hope that it is!

Like many of you, the Gorilla is an avid horse lover, so when he heard the disturbing statistics about them, he was shocked and saddened. Over 100,000 horses were cruelly slaughtered in the U.S. last year. You may assume that these are old or lame horses that have no use any longer, but your assumption would be wrong…dead wrong!  Over 91% of the horses sent to the slaughterhouses each year are perfectly fine, young, healthy horses and many of them- disturbingly- are foals from the PMU or Premarin drug farms. Premarin is a women’s menopause drug, which is made from the urine of pregnant mares. Once the mares give birth, many of these foals are sent to slaughter, without ever having a chance at life. In addition, many of the horses slaughtered are retired race horses, who are by no means lame or old.   And the slaughter is the cruelest, most painful and terrifyingly scary death, one could ever imagine. Horsemeat cannot be sold for human consumption until the horse is bled-out (many are still alive during the process), so without going into the gruesome details, use your imagination. And to make it even worse, each horse must watch the horses before it be killed in this way. Once slaughtered, the meat is then sold to European countries and other countries, often times, for human consumption. It is a cruel and unnecessary evil that many states in the U.S. have outlawed, but in too many other states in the U.S., it is still perfectly legal.  Currently, a bill is pending that may outlaw altogether the slaughter of horses. The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act bans the slaughter of horses in the United States and causes it to be illegal to transport horses to other countries for purposes of slaughter. So how does the largest slaughterhouse in the U.S.- Bel-tex- in Fort Worth, Texas handling the proposed bill? Well, as you can imagine, not well. The company, whose grisly slogans include, ”Eat and Drink American” and “The Best Color for a Horse is Fat,” is fighting the bill. Texas happens to be the “horse- kill” capitol of the United States with both of the largest slaughter plants located there, including Dallas Crown in Kauffman, and Bel-Tex in Ft Worth.  Many people aren’t aware of exactly just what goes on in the big money (blood money) industry of these U.S. slaughterhouses, and it is about time it is put to a stop once and for all. And don’t be fooled by the “over-population” myth that has had a lot of press and hype- mostly from the slaughterhouse industry- in order to create justification and need. It is simply not factual. There is simply no overpopulation of horses in this country and any horse that needs to be euthanized due to age, behavior, or illness, deserves to be done so humanly, responsibly, and gently. There is still an industry for horse carcasses. The remains are used for various reasons and do not need to be consumed by humans.  

Fortunately for the horses, they have us as their advocates. Don’t let them down. You can help by writing letters, sending faxes, and/or make phone calls to your Congressional representatives. In the meantime, there are fortunately, many horse rescues out there that are saving these beautiful and useful creatures from a horrible, unnecessary death. That is precisely where the Gorilla obtained his horse; a perfectly healthy 3 year-old male buckskin named “Cody.” There are hundreds of horses that you can adopt or you can even ”sponsor” one so that it may continue to stay out of the slaughterhouses. You do not have to buy one necessarily in order to help.  Horses are the stuff great Western movies are made of, and slaughtering them so cruelly, should never be allowed. After all, Mr. Ed would certainly have something to say about that one, now wouldn’t he?

Have you ever been to the desert? If you have then you have certainly felt the intense magnitude of the heat there. Like the Gorilla, you have probably even pondered the effects of all that heat, and how it could power the world with its solar energy. Well, okay, maybe you hadn’t quite thought about that aspect, but scientists certainly have- and thank goodness!  As it turns out solar power from Africa’s deserts could actually supply all 600 million of it’s poor citizens - who don’t have electricity currently- with power, and it can even be exported to Europe. This was reported by a green energy conference in Nairobi on Thursday. Today, the Gorilla was out in the blistering sun and thought about that very good idea and smiled. After all, why not?  This desert sun could possibly provide the equivalent of 1.5 barrels of oil per square kilometer, as reported by Gerhard Knies, who is project manager for Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC), at a meeting of nine African states. He explained that the desert is the largest and best source of solar power and went on to explain how deserts receive 700 times more power per year than all humankind is using! Whoa, now that is a lot of power! The timing could not be better, as so many of Africa’s poor are in desperate need of electricity. Imagine how it could affect their society for the better!  And the better news is that providing solar thermal energy is simple and clean compared to extracting and processing fossil fuels (which we know is harmful to the environment and way too costly to boot). The process of harnessing the sun’s enormous power involves a combination of mirrors and pipes to concentrate the sun’s heat to boil water and drive an old fashion steam turbine. Once you have the mirrors and pipes, the costs are finished, and Mother Nature does the rest. That’s it! ] 

Currently, solar power is being used throughout the world as a supplement to the costly use of fossil fuels, but its use is limited right now. Eventually, the hope is that fossil fuels will become the supplement to renewable solar energy! Well, all the Gorilla can say is, let’s get going on this people! The outrageous costs of fuel are what is behind the movement to harness solar power, and with price of gas in Europe reaching as high as $12 and more per gallon, push has certainly come to shove. Hey, whatever it takes to get this environment healthier and cleaner is what we all want, so to the awesome innovation of harnessing solar power, the Gorilla says ”bring on the heat!”

It’s nothing new that when people in the U.S. want illegal prescription drugs, they order them from other countries. In fact, the list of illegal items obtained from other countries is very long! But now it seems that even a popular Euthanasia pill is available to those who want to “exit” this life peacefully, albeit illegally. According to a report from the Mexican newspaper, Reform AFP, over 200 terminally ill people from Australia, Britain, New Zealand and the United States have visited Mexico since 2001 to purchase the Euthanasia Drug, Nembutol, which is cheap and widely available.  According to the article, Mexico’s 20 or so border towns like Tijuana in California, and Matamoros on the Gulf of Mexico, are premier places to find the drug. What’s more disturbing is the fact that the pro-euthanasia group Exit International, based in Australia, is promoting this option and telling those who want to end their lives “peacefully” to consider using Mexico as an option. Exit International is a non-profit organization, founded by Dr. Philip Nitschke, which promotes the peaceful end of life alternative of euthanasia by advocating a pro-choice voluntary euthanasia/ assisted suicide to those who are terminally ill. Nitschke, was the very first doctor to administer a legal lethal voluntary injection under the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act of the Northern Territory in 1996 (the act was short-lived). Nitschke is also the author of, “The Peaceful Pill Handbook,” which disturbing as it sounds is a guide to creating your own suicide pill at home (among other things). The disturbing instructional guide can also be found on YouTube, with some clips showing step-by-step methods to creating the euthanasia pill in one’s own kitchen.  The drug Nembutol is commonly used to put down animals and is widely available throughout Mexico, making it easily accessible to those seeking it out. Add to that convenience, the fact that it is affordable as well at only $20-$40 per 100 ml bottle, and you have a recipe for disaster- in the form of certain death. According to that same Mexican newspaper article, Don Flounders, a 78-year-old British-born retiree, with a deadly form of cancer, traveled from Australia to the Pacific coast town of Tijuana to get the medicine. Flounders told the newspaper that he found a veterinary pharmacy that had a sign advertising “articles for Australians.”  Although the Gorilla understands completely, the need for those who are terminally ill to not prolong their suffering and go out quietly and peacefully, he is still disturbed by those who advocate intentional use of such drugs and methods for profit. They are capitalizing in essence, on others’ unfortunate circumstances, as well as their state of fear and vulnerability.  Should we call them “heroes” or “Doctors of Death,” just as Dr. Jack Kevorkian is called? Currently, the Mexican government is allowing the sale of these “death drugs,” making it official that you truly can buy just about anything in Mexico- even death in pill form, which in the Gorilla’s opinion, is truly sad!

What if you could choose the type of child born to you? In other words, imagine inserting certain qualities into an embryo, such as athletic ability or intelligence. It sounds pretty amazing in theory, (if you are into the Sci-Fi Network), but personally, the Gorilla finds this idea to be not only immoral, but just plain creepy.  For the first time ever, scientists have altered a human embryo, and the study is drawing a lot of controversy from some watchdog groups around the world. The groups claim that the practice of making “designer babies” is both appalling and unsettling. But Dr. Zev Rosenwaks, who is the director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility at New York- Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, says that “none of us want to make designer babies.” Dr. Rosenwak is the author of the study and says that the work was focused on stem cells and notes that researchers used an abnormal embryo that could never have developed into a baby anyway. It is a nice argument, but the Gorilla must ask, do some of these researchers enjoy playing God?  The idea of designer babies is certainly not a new one, and the thought is that someday scientists may give parents the option of certain traits for their future child or children. Many people (including the Gorilla), find this idea repugnant, claiming that it turns children into some kind of “designer objects” and would create an “unequal” society, whereby some people are genetically enriched, while others would be considered inferior. Yes, it sounds very futuristic and cool if this was a movie, but in the real world, it could be a dangerous prospect! The study is the first report of genetically modifying a human embryo, but when it was presented last fall at a meeting for the American Society for reproductive medicine, it didn’t attract that much attention or controversy- until the London times recently published the report. The report claims that Rosenwaks and his colleagues worked on an embryo that was considered nonviable because it had extra chromosomes. Following a procedure frequently used on animals, they inserted a gene that acts as a marker that can easily be followed over time. The study claims that the embryo reportedly “took up” the gene. The goal was to see if a gene introduced to an abnormal embryo could be traced in stem cells that are harvested from the embryo. Dr. Rosenwaks says that it would shed light on why abnormal embryos sometimes fail to develop. He also says that no stem cells were actually recovered from the embryo, and noted that abnormal embryos often don’t develop well enough to produce them. Although making designer babies was not the actual “intent” of the study, it still draws controversy because of the fact that it shows that it is possible to do so, which is disturbing in the Gorilla’s mind. It seems that these scientists were experimenting with techniques that others might use to genetically modify human lives, and they are getting away with it with little debate thus far.  A London-based group called Human Genetics Alert similarly criticized the work. 

Hey, the Gorilla is for any research that can help potentially find and correct genetic defects, but that being said, there are lines that need not be crossed when it comes to altering creation. Others may disagree, and everyone is entitled to do so, but at what point is crossing the lines of science morally unacceptable?

In Africa, nearly 2 million children are orphans due to the AIDS epidemic there. These childrens’ lives could have been drastically different had these parents had the proper health care and medicines to save their lives. In addition, alarmingly,  an African child dies of Malaria every thirty seconds.

It takes so little to do so much for these children in need. Believe it or not, it takes just ten dollars to buy a mosquito net, which saves lives and can change those statistics dramatically. It is not just African who suffers, there are also many American children and families in great need as well. Take a look at Katrina-ravaged New Orleans, where thousands of families were left homeless, when their homes were left in total disrepair, after to succumbing to severe water damage. And how about the hundreds of thousands of families in this country that have no health care coverage and are in urgent need of medical attention? Or the families right here in our homeland, who live in alarming conditions in the Appalachian mountains? Many of these families are so impoverished, that to see their living conditions, you would think you were in a junkyard in a foreign country- not right here in our very own United States of America.

It is simply shocking that any human should have to live this way. The creator of the hit show American Idol agreed, and that is why he decided to take advantage of his 40 million plus viewers-i n a good way! Nigel Lythgoe felt that he owed a society, who has given him so much, so he decided that he was in a great position to give back; thus the name of his organization, “Idol Gives Back.” Whether you are a fan of American Idol or not, the efforts of the many people and dozens of celebrities who participated in the “Idol Gives Back” show last night, are simply inspiring. The goal is to raise $100 million to help those families in need in Africa, and in our very own United States. It is an amazing effort that harnesses the ability of the show to capture America’s hearts, and the power of entertainment to benefit some of the poorest most vulnerable people in the world.

Last year the organization raised nearly $76 million. This year’s event was much more ambitious. The star-studded show included such names as Robin Williams, Carrie Underwood, Brad Pitt, Bono, and Celine Dion. Donations were taken during the show, with many of the idols taking phone calls themselves, and many donations being taken online. The Gorilla was so inspired, he even made the call and donated himself. It is a great feeling to know how much help even a small amount of money can give to those who so desperately need it. As we celebrate the onset of the glorious spring season, let’s not forget about all of those who don’t have very much to celebrate in their own lives, and be grateful for what we have. If you would like to give to this wonderful foundation, you may do so at:  www.americanidol.com/idolgivesback.

Whether you are sitting on your porch swing in Florida, or driving to work in the snow in New Jersey, this morning, remember something; you are lucky to be here! People in China are not so lucky these days, as the state of the world there, is not so good. Last week, the Gorilla read about an overcrowded train station in China, in which hundreds- even thousands- of people were stranded, as the weather overtook the railways, keeping trains from running, and leaving would-be travelers frustrated and angry. People were getting trampled and the crowds became almost unmanageable. 

It probably wouldn’t be so bad if there weren’t record low temperatures and blizzard conditions for the last couple of weeks in China. Brutal weather has pounded China’s central, eastern, and southern sections since January 10th.  Add to that the fact that it is the Chinese New Year beginning on February 6, and many Chinese people wait all year long to see their families in this coming week. It is a Chinese tradition to spend the last week of the year with family, and many of these travelers are migrant workers, who work in misery all year long without a break, and look forward to this time off to spend with relatives.

The weather has been dangerous, and with blizzard conditions all week long, not conducive to travel whatsoever. Most trains have been delayed and some have been stopped from running all together. As a result, the Chinese government is asking the estimated 178 million migrant workers to forgo their travel plans this year, saying that it is the worst weather in 50 years, and it is expected to get worse. The brutal weather is expected to pummel the country at least for another 3 days. The workers toil in factories all year long and for some, it is the only bright spot they have to look forward the entire year.

On Thursday, crowds at the train stations did thin, but only slightly.  Masses of desperate travelers took advantage of the break in the weather and crammed into buses to help them escape from their misery and take them home to their families. They are the lucky ones, since the power has been down in the railway system and some had been waiting for more that 40 hours in hope of catching a train out. Power was finally restored, but only temporarily. So far, the Government has persuaded over 450,000 people to forgo their travel plans, and accept refunds for their train tickets. The weather has paralyzed transportation, frozen the power grid, killed at least 63 people, and delivered a $4.5 billion blow to the economy- an economy already suffering from record high inflation and economic pressures galore.

The weather has also destroyed most of China’s crops, causing food prices to skyrocket, and the inability to transport goods around the country has further inflated prices and led to shortages at most stores.  Still, every hassle is worth it if you can make it home in time for the holiday, worker Jim Hui told CNN. “It is our Chinese tradition to go home and reunite with the family — especially in the last day of the year — having dinner with my parents,” he said. His wife, Hu Yie Chen, added: “Because we left the village and we spend the whole year working in the city, the money saved is really needed to share with the family.” The Gorilla cannot stress enough to everyone to count your blessings and think of all the good people in China, who are suffering right now.  That icy, stressful drive to work may be tough, but at least you have the ability and the means to get there!