Aug. 20, 2008 at 11:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)dnuss (anonymous)

Certainly the United States needs to be able to defend against germ warfare threats. Arguably we cannot afford to be second-best at this, but we should pursue necessary work in a way that does not itself jeopardize livestock, livelihoods, and the health and safety of citizens. Siting the NBAF in the center of what the proponents have characterized as the "center of the global food animal health corridor" defies common sense.

Human error and lack of transparency established by the Bush administration during the past eight years combine to create a situation where the public will be hard pressed to know for sure when a release has occurred. And clearly the concern is WHEN not IF because there is documentable evidence of problems but also documentable evidence of attempts to cover-up those problems.

For example, the Texas A&M animal research program as closed down by the USDA and the Vice President for Research there was forced to resign in part because laboratory staff had become infected. There are other examples of laboratory staff becoming ill and some dying are relatively common. Lab mistakes take place even when precautions and safeguards are in place.

However, there is currently no state or federal legislation in place that requires that the public be informed when these types of situations happen. It's only through whistle-blowers and the persistence of concerned citizens working to access the information has the public been able to find out what has happened and to what degree. So, think about it -- the situations we do know about the public had to fight to find out -- what about the situations we don't know about?

Aug. 21, 2008 at 12:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)daskey (anonymous)

Can the oh-so-often cited Tom Thornton present evidence of a credible threat? I once heard that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, including bio-weapons, and we all know where that little lie has led us. People make all sorts of assumptions about what terrorists are doing, and surely there are some evil people. If, however, it takes a BSL-3 or BSL-4 lab to contain these pathogens, if terrorists had possession of these agents, wouldn't the world perhaps notice when animals and people began getting sick? Surely, terrorists lack the ability to handle these materials, let's be honest about that or, really, we'll spend the next 50 years chasing our tails trying to protect ourselves from any potential terrorist threat.

I have no intention to cower in a foxhole and watch while we erode our civil liberties and our common sense just because evil exists. It always has, and always will, and it's human folly to think we can stop it with science, policy, or laws.

Aug. 21, 2008 at 12:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)daskey (anonymous)

Might I also point out that Tom Thornton is not qualified to make statements such as "[i]t's actually terrorists looking to develop the very pathogens that the NBAF is trying to defeat." He's not in government, he's not a scientist; he's just a businessman with a pulpit. If you repeat statements such as his often enough, however, people begin to take them at face value as fact. Kudos to him for being so expert at misleading people; it's a useful skill for someone trying to wheedle money from public agencies.

Aug. 23, 2008 at 9:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)Bash09 (anonymous)

I am very alarmed an NBAF is even suggested to be opperated on the mainland right in the middle of the nations breadbasket.
Proponents say, "Oh it is a cute puppy that will always stay a puppy and see how it is so playful. If it gets loose it will cost only a few Billion dollars damage in Riley County alone. Thats not very much. The the students can play with it too. On the KSU campus we can build it right next to a daycare, how fitting, oh can I keep Mom, it just followed me home, I promise to feed it every day and there will be jobs, jobs, jobs, money, money, money just like NAFTA didn't all that come true too?"

Where is their critical thinking?

Plum Island is said to be an aging facility with so many problems and I'm sure that at one time it was a cute playful puppy but now it is a dog. Well they want to put a lab some place so how about working with another country with the same type of labs on a distant island, thats if we can learn how to get along and not try to police the world. Stop sticking our nose into everyones business, maybe the most of the terrorizm would go away.
The GAO pretty much communicated in a meaningful way that it is a bad idea. So what part of the word "NO" is it that they just don't understand?

Aug. 27, 2008 at 1:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)daskey (anonymous)

Read more about why the NBAF is a bad idea at http://nonbaf.wordpress.com.