Pardon the interruption from our normal posts. I dont talk much about school unless there is some UCSC drama that I feel needs everyones attention. This one takes the cake.
Last week two of the faculty researchers on campus were attacked with bombs! One man who studies mice to learn about brain function had his house, which is just barely off campus, firebombed at 5:40am while his entire family including 2 children slept inside. At the same time another researcher who lived on campus had his car blow up because he works with yeast!!!
Now I am all for the humane treatment of animals and such but I also believe that animals such as mice need to be used under certain circumstances to help human beings. If you have a problem with that then you need to go look in the faces of the children in the cancer ward of a hospital and tell them that you cant help save their life because you have to save the lives of hundreds of lab mice. Instead you are going to aid in their suffering and death, by refusing to allow the research needed to find their cure.
These terrorist bombings were the work of the Animal Liberation Front (no, they do not get the honor of a link). They claim that it is the fault of the scientists for choosing a profession which puts their families in danger.
Why dont they attack Bob's pest control? He kills mice all flipping day long!
Seriously now... Do we need to firebomb children to save a mouse.
(oh yea, did I mention that this happened earlier this year to another UCSC researcher. Masked men invaded the home of a researcher and held him and his family hostage. Luckly no one was killed, although the researcher was injured)
If you want more info about this story here are some links.
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/opinion/ci_10112699
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/04/EDSP124T4K.DTL
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/08/06/attacks
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/04/ED6D124QS1.DTL
http://www.nih.gov/about/director/08062008statement_santacruz.htm
