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1. RITUAL SLAUGHTER: DUTCH BAN OUTRAGES JEWS AND MUSLIMS.
Kosher and halal rules for the preparation of meat, require the throat to be slit while the animal is fully conscious. Holland has long been considered the most culturally tolerant country in Europe and perhaps in the world, but ritual slaughter does seem barbaric, and on Tuesday, the Netherlands Parliament passed a bill proposed by an animal-rights group banning ritual slaughter of animals. Laws prohibiting cruelty to animals as well as cruel religious practices, including polygamy, female genital mutilation, and the burning of witches are enforced in every civilized society. According to the Netherlands chief Rabbi, however, "Those who survived the war (WWII) remember that the very first law made by the Germans in Holland was the banning of schechita." The Muslims, meanwhile, are certain that the law is aimed at them. In any case, both groups are free to practice vegetarianism and would be healthier for it.
2. SHUTTLE: A FINAL LOOK AT THE US SPACE SHUTTLE.
In today's issue of Science, Dan Charles takes a clear-eyed look at "Science on the Shuttle." For 30 years the space shuttle has been the only Highway to Space for US astronauts. Next week, space shuttle Atlantis, STS-135, will deliver a load of groceries to the ISS. After its return 12 days later Atlantis will remain in Florida as a museum piece. The other surviving shuttles will likewise serve as museums in the district's of key members of Congress. Near the end of the retrospective, I find myself cast as the chief shuttle critic: Among some scientists, Dan says, antipathy to the shuttle or any human space flight runs deep. He quotes me: "It indulged humankind's impractical space fantasies at a cost that retarded genuine progress." And so it did, but was there any science? He cites only the repair of the Hubble space telescope, but it would have been cheaper to launch a new Hubble.
3. HOMESTAKE, SOUTH DAKOTA: A MINE IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE.
WN hasn't mentioned Homestake in 8 years (read here). It would be the deepest underground science facility in the world, 2,400 m below ground; deeper than the current record holder, SNOLAB in Sudbury, Ontario, at 2,100 m below. At that time the mine was dry and conversion to a research laboratory would have been relatively inexpensive. However, rather than risk liability for environmental infractions that might come to light, the mining company chose to flood the mine, enormously increasing the cost of conversion. It would now take between $1.2 billion and $2.2 billion to build and equip an underground particle physics laboratory at Homestake, according to a study presented last week to a federal advisory panel. Adrian Cho, writing in Science magazine this week, questions whether that's feasible. That's as much as a shuttle trip to the ISS, and who could afford that?
THE FINAL SEWER: WELL TRY TO DO THE OCEAN NEXT WEEK.
