Decius wrote:
] ... "Never, ever talk to the federal government."
]
] ] Thomas Campbell Butler, at 63 years of age, is completing
] ] the 1st year of a 2-year sentence in federal prison,
] ] following an investigation and trial that was initiated
] ] after he voluntarily reported that he believed vials
] ] containing _Yersinia pestis_ were missing from his
] ] laboratory at Texas Tech University. We take this
] ] opportunity to remind the infectious diseases community
] ] of the plight of our esteemed colleague, whose career and
] ] family have, as a result of his efforts to protect us
] ] from infection by this organism, paid a price from which
] ] they will never recover.

The guy misplaced THIRTY vials of the plague.

I hate to say this, but as innocent as this guy is - you can't go around accidentally destroying but not being sure, or otherwise misplacing 30 vials of the frickin' plague.

ibenez wrote:
]
] The guy misplaced THIRTY vials of the plague.
]
] I hate to say this, but as innocent as this guy is - you can't
] go around accidentally destroying but not being sure, or
] otherwise misplacing 30 vials of the frickin' plague.

Granted, not good. However, you ought to be able to get the FBI involved in the event you think they might be stolen without worrying that if it turns out your grad student threw them in the autoclave they'll rake you over the coals for it.

Decius wrote:
ibenez wrote:
]
] The guy misplaced THIRTY vials of the plague.
]
] I hate to say this, but as innocent as this guy is - you can't
] go around accidentally destroying but not being sure, or
] otherwise misplacing 30 vials of the frickin' plague.

Granted, not good. However, you ought to be able to get the FBI involved in the event you think they might be stolen without worrying that if it turns out your grad student threw them in the autoclave they'll rake you over the coals for it.

Ought to be able to, yes. In the current atmosphere of terrorism-charged fears, though, you might consider having a lawyer present for any contracts signed with Big Brother whether he's the feds or university administration just to be on the safe side.

-janelane

janelane wrote:

Decius wrote:
ibenez wrote:
]
] The guy misplaced THIRTY vials of the plague.
]
] I hate to say this, but as innocent as this guy is - you can't
] go around accidentally destroying but not being sure, or
] otherwise misplacing 30 vials of the frickin' plague.

Granted, not good. However, you ought to be able to get the FBI involved in the event you think they might be stolen without worrying that if it turns out your grad student threw them in the autoclave they'll rake you over the coals for it.

Ought to be able to, yes. In the current atmosphere of terrorism-charged fears, though, you might consider having a lawyer present for any contracts signed with Big Brother whether he's the feds or university administration just to be on the safe side.

-janelane

Hrmm... sounds reasonable. But how about just not misplacing or losing track of 30 vials of the plague? That sounds good too eh?

ibenez wrote:

janelane wrote:

Decius wrote:
ibenez wrote:
]
] The guy misplaced THIRTY vials of the plague.
]
] I hate to say this, but as innocent as this guy is - you can't
] go around accidentally destroying but not being sure, or
] otherwise misplacing 30 vials of the frickin' plague.

Granted, not good. However, you ought to be able to get the FBI involved in the event you think they might be stolen without worrying that if it turns out your grad student threw them in the autoclave they'll rake you over the coals for it.

Ought to be able to, yes. In the current atmosphere of terrorism-charged fears, though, you might consider having a lawyer present for any contracts signed with Big Brother whether he's the feds or university administration just to be on the safe side.

-janelane

Hrmm... sounds reasonable. But how about just not misplacing or losing track of 30 vials of the plague? That sounds good too eh?

If that were the problem, why did they not just try him for that? The tacked on bull-shit had little to do with justice or problem solving. If you report your car stolen, and the person who stole it runs someone over with it, are you really responsible for leaving your car alone? Should the cops arrest you for murder instead of the criminal?

terratogen wrote:

ibenez wrote:

janelane wrote:

Decius wrote:
ibenez wrote:
]
] The guy misplaced THIRTY vials of the plague.
]
] I hate to say this, but as innocent as this guy is - you can't
] go around accidentally destroying but not being sure, or
] otherwise misplacing 30 vials of the frickin' plague.

Granted, not good. However, you ought to be able to get the FBI involved in the event you think they might be stolen without worrying that if it turns out your grad student threw them in the autoclave they'll rake you over the coals for it.

Ought to be able to, yes. In the current atmosphere of terrorism-charged fears, though, you might consider having a lawyer present for any contracts signed with Big Brother whether he's the feds or university administration just to be on the safe side.

-janelane

Hrmm... sounds reasonable. But how about just not misplacing or losing track of 30 vials of the plague? That sounds good too eh?

If that were the problem, why did they not just try him for that? The tacked on bull-shit had little to do with justice or problem solving. If you report your car stolen, and the person who stole it runs someone over with it, are you really responsible for leaving your car alone? Should the cops arrest you for murder instead of the criminal?

If your car is made out of a biological weapon - yes.

ibenez wrote:

terratogen wrote:

ibenez wrote:

janelane wrote:

Decius wrote:
ibenez wrote:
]
] The guy misplaced THIRTY vials of the plague.
]
] I hate to say this, but as innocent as this guy is - you can't
] go around accidentally destroying but not being sure, or
] otherwise misplacing 30 vials of the frickin' plague.

Granted, not good. However, you ought to be able to get the FBI involved in the event you think they might be stolen without worrying that if it turns out your grad student threw them in the autoclave they'll rake you over the coals for it.

Ought to be able to, yes. In the current atmosphere of terrorism-charged fears, though, you might consider having a lawyer present for any contracts signed with Big Brother whether he's the feds or university administration just to be on the safe side.

-janelane

Hrmm... sounds reasonable. But how about just not misplacing or losing track of 30 vials of the plague? That sounds good too eh?

If that were the problem, why did they not just try him for that? The tacked on bull-shit had little to do with justice or problem solving. If you report your car stolen, and the person who stole it runs someone over with it, are you really responsible for leaving your car alone? Should the cops arrest you for murder instead of the criminal?

If your car is made out of a biological weapon - yes.

Yeah, thats a great idea. Let the murderers and terrorists run free and harass scientists. It's one way to fight for creationism.