Day of Atonement

Michael Vick tortured and killed dogs and went to
jail for his actions. Eric Ledbetter tortured and
blinded and killed dogs and was praised by his
Cornell University colleagues.

Today (Monday, September 28, 2009) is Yom Kippur,
a day of fasting in which Jews throughout the world
meditate and reflect upon past transgressions. For
a Jew, today's thoughts are reserved for personal
reflection and introspection.

On this day, I dedicate my column to Dr. Eric
Ledbetter of Cornell University. He and his team
of researchers injected herpes virus into the
eyes of (he calls them "naive") dogs, just to
see what would happen. The dogs went blind and
suffered severe pain in the process. Duh.
A link to his June, 2009 study:

http://tinyurl. com/ybqnapx

Should you wish to contact Dr. Heshouldknowbetter
Ledbetter:

ecl32@cornell. edu

My day of atonement fantasy for Eric would be to
inject herpes virus into his eyes. I know the
results of my study before the conclusion:

In the future, he would see no evil.

Think of what science taught us from his study.
Poke dogs in the eyes with hypodermic syringes
filled with herpes virus and they will need
seeing eye persons.

Who else should spend today atoning for past sins?
A group of Chinese scientists who inoculated tiger
pups with the AIDS virus, just to see what would
happen. A link to their May, 2009 publication:

http://tinyurl. com/ybpnvzj

These so-called people of science must sense that
their work is more than just deceptive and self-serving.
It is merciless. It is shameful. I've never before
heard of tigers with AIDS, but shall forever in the
future avoid tiger bites when I am on safari.

Can Japanese scientists atone for the worst
example of animal research?

I can never forgive the scientists who published the
most horrible of studies in the December 2002 issue of
New Scientist. Can they forgive themselves?

http://www.newscien tist.com/ news/news. jsp?id=ns9999313 5

These Japanese researchers decapitated the heads
of 12-day-old rats, and implanted them onto the
thighs of adult rodents.

Think of the possibilities for humans! If we perform
this same technique on Americans, in the event of a
nuclear terrorist attack, we'll be able to kiss our
own asses goodbye.

One scientist, Nobufumi Kawai, at the Jichi Medical
School in Tochigi, claims that the grafted heads
could become "excellent models" for investigating
brain function in human infants.

Today I may atone for my own selfish fantasy
which involves Dr. Kawai's upper thigh and the
transplanted head of one of Michael Vick's
abused pit bulls...

Then again, I may not. Perhaps I'll just fantasize
about developing an AIDS vaccine for a group of
Chinese Nazi doctors.

On this sacred day of atonement, there is neither
penance nor expiation for the things men do to
animals.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk. com