What's New Robert L. Park 1 Jul 2011

WHAT=92S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 1 Jul 2011   Washington, DC

1. RITUAL SLAUGHTER: DUTCH BAN OUTRAGES JEWS AND MUSLIMS.
Kosher and halal rules for the preparation of meat, require the throat to=
=20
be slit while the animal is fully conscious.  Holland has long been=20
considered the most culturally tolerant country in Europe and perhaps in=20
the world, but ritual slaughter does seem barbaric, and on Tuesday, the=20
Netherlands Parliament passed a bill proposed by an animal-rights group=20
banning ritual slaughter of animals.  Laws prohibiting cruelty to animals=
=20
as well as cruel religious practices, including polygamy, female genital=20
mutilation, and the burning of witches are enforced in every civilized=20
society.  According to the Netherlands chief Rabbi, however, "Those who=20
survived the war(WWII)remember that the very first law made by the German=
s=20
in Holland was the banning of schechita."  The Muslims, meanwhile, are=20
certain that the law is aimed at them.  In any case, both groups are free=
=20
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=20
at "Science on the Shuttle."  For 30 years the space shuttle has been the=
=20
only Highway to Space for US astronauts.  Next week, space shuttle=20
Atlantis, STS-135, will deliver a load of groceries to the ISS.  After it=
s=20
return 12 days later Atlantis will remain in Florida as a museum piece. T=
he=20
other surviving shuttles will likewise serve as museums in the district's=
=20
of key members of Congress.  Near the end of the retrospective, I find=20
myself cast as the chief shuttle critic:  Among some scientists, Dan says=
,=20
antipathy to the shuttle =96 or any human space flight =96 runs deep.  He=
=20
quotes me, "It indulged humankind's impractical space fantasies at a cost=
=20
that retarded genuine progress." And so it did, but was there any science=
? =20
He cites only the repair of the Hubble space telescope, but it would have=
=20
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 =20
www.bobpark.org/WN03/wn020703.html . It would be the deepest underground=20
science facility in the world, 2,400m below ground; deeper than the curre=
nt=20
record holder, SNOLAB in Sudbury, Ontario at 2,100m below. At that time t=
he=20
mine was dry and conversion to a research laboratory would have been=20
relatively inexpensive.  However, rather than risk liability for=20
environmental infractions that might come to light, the mining company=20
chose to flood the mine, enormously increasing the cost of conversion.  I=
t=20
would now take between $1.2 billion and $2.2 billion to build and equip a=
n=20
underground particle physics laboratory at Homestake, according to a stud=
y=20
presented last week to a federal advisory panel.  Adrian Cho writing in=20
Science magazine this week, questions whether that=92s feasible. That's a=
s=20
much as a shuttle trip to the ISS, and who could afford that? =20

THE FINAL SEWER: WE=92LL TRY TO DO THE OCEAN NEXT WEEK.  =20

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
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