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From: dean@violet.berkeley.edu (Dean Pentcheff)
Newsgroups: sci.research
Subject: Re: Dugway Biowarfare Facility
Message-ID: <5387@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Sun, 11-Oct-87 20:39:37 EDT
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Posted: Sun Oct 11 20:39:37 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 13-Oct-87 00:53:46 EDT
References: <2476@sigi.Colorado.EDU> <6535@brl-smoke.ARPA> <2518@sigi.Colorado.EDU> <6557@brl-smoke.ARPA>
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Reply-To: dean@violet.berkeley.edu (Dean Pentcheff)
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Organization: University of California, Berkeley   Department of Zoology
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Mr. Gwyn, you made several good points in your reply to Mr. Pelletier
regarding the role of research and development in the military.  You made
one statement, however, which I must challenge.

  Mr. Pelletier writes (citing an example of military negligence):
    ...deploying bacteria from aircraft on a major (or minor) US city?
  
  You reply:
    Don't be silly; universities don't normally have precisely this scenario
    to goof up.  They have spread ideas across the nation that are even more
    harmful, however; does that count?
    ....
    The military is inherently a serious business.

The serious business of the universities _is_ to spread ideas,
dangerous or not, across the nation and the world.  It is the business
of the military to protect the nation which values such free thought.
Do not lose sight of the priorities.


-Dean Pentcheff	(dean@violet.berkeley.edu)
 Department of Zoology     University of California at Berkeley