ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUPS IMPEDING RESEARCH

This article reports that the actions of various animal rights groups are impeding research efforts to find cures based upon recent scientific advancements and discoveries. Specifically, scientists state that progress has been slowed in the areas of the human genome sequence, organ transplant techniques, and the use of stem cells to replace diseased or damaged tissue. This is due to a nationwide shortage of monkeys caused by increased demand coupled with animal rights groups making it difficult to obtain the monkeys with threat of public and political backlash.

Dr. Ruth Ruprecht of Harvard Medical School had to slow down her AIDS research because of the shortage. Ruprecht, who works at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and Dr. Judy Lieberman are working on a promising oral AIDS vaccine but had to wait a year for an NIH grant big enough to buy, house and study 86 rhesus monkeys, at a cost of $400,000, in the first year of their $12 million project.

The shortage "is slowing down AIDS research; there's no doubt about it," Ruprecht said.

It is my belief that the majority of liberal protesters and activists are pretty much the same people who become vocal for whatever the "cause of the day" is. With that as a given, one has to wonder how the activists reconcile in their minds that being pro-AIDS research (more monkeys) and pro-animal rights (no monkeys) at the same time causes them to be at odds with themselves.

[Followup information via Random Nuclear Strikes]
In support of my contention that the majority of protesters and activists are pretty much the same people pushing the cause of the day, anti-war protesters in San Francisco have disbanded and reorganized as anti-occupation protesters. The protesters are sponsored by San Francisco's Global Exchange and the Bay Area chapter of the antiwar group Not in Our Name.

"It went great," said Medea Benjamin of Global Exchange. "We are rebuilding the anti-war movement into an anti-occupation movement. We've dissolved the whole issues of being for or against the troops. Now we are with the troops and we all want them to be brought home."

These folks are marvelously versatile and I'm positive they will always find some reason to protest.