C.C. reader. ([Middletown, Pa.]) 1973-1982, December 06, 1974, Image 7
PAGE SEVEN • inpsychobiology The following is a report from United Action for Animals, lnc., a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of laboratory animals. The National Science Foundation, an agency in the Executive branch of government, has been sup porting research in psy chobiology for a quarter of a century. The difference between vivisection and psychobiology is that in vivisection the animals have some hope of dying, either from the experiment or by being killed by the experimenters sometime afterward. In psychobiol ogy, the aminals are tortured and tormented throughout their entire lives. In many experiments the experimenters use in tensive and ingenious methods to make the animals neurotic or to drive them insane. Another name commonly substituted for psychobi ology is "animal behavior", which doesn't mean what most people think it means. "Animal behavior" in the laboratories means behavior modification, known in humans, espe cially prisoners pf war, as brain-washing. Generally, it means forcing animals, often by pain, fear, and/or mutilation, to commit un natural acts. Psychobiology was im ported into the U.S. early in this century from the Soviet Union where Ivan Pavlov was conducting his condi tioned-reflex experiments on dogs. Today, students at institutions all over the country earn their PhD's and other academic titles by mutilating, torturing and tormenting animals in this brain-washing "animal Be havior" research. But the staggering growth of psy chobiology did not occur spontaneously. It might never have taken place at all, except for the multi million dollar Congres sional subsidies to the National Science Founda tion that have been used to nurture psychobiology since 1950, not only in re search but in teaching. By Vivisection subsidizing the teaching of psychobiology Congress has contributed substan tially to the decline and fall of education in this coun try. Although a long string of agencies, both civilian and military, already existed, Congress established the NSF "To promote the progress of science; to advance the national health prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national de fense; and other pur poses." The functions of the NSF included "to initiate and support basic scientific research and programs to strengthen scientific research poten tial and science education programs..." and "to award scholarships and graduate fellowships..." Curiously, while one of NSF's stated objectives was to "advance the na tional health" while so many other "health" agen cies already existed, the NSF frankly says that it does NOT support projects in clinical medicine, but supports "basic research" without limit. Basic re search is research which has no goal - that is, it is not expected to produce anything useful. Ironically, the NSF, so devoted to the aimless mutilation, torture and torment of animals in the name of psychobiology or animal behavior, has now been named as science advisor to the President. It's not hard to guess what kind of advice the President will be getting. But it was Congress that established the NSF in the first place, and it is Congress which must bear the responsibil ity for what the NSF is doing. Why does Congress object to letting the NSF spend its funds for socially useful purposes, but offers no objection to NSF's continued psychobiologi cal brain-washing re search? 4 Wire mad? n make it more val air at Sera-Tec. The dorm or apartment n of plasma that can . The contour chairs xcellent, the "work" are irreplacable. an ARM? 232-1901 - 6pm c meislicais STREET RG, PA. 17102 0 LOGICAL PRODUCTS C.C. READER As an example of the strange ways of Congress, on February 8, 1974, an article in SCIENCE stated that when NSF officials went to Congress in De cember asking for 68.2 million more than the 6577.6 million the already got, Senator William Proxmire(D-Wis.), Chair man of the Senate sub committee which oversees appropriations for the NSF, "queried"the NSF about some of its projects. The article said :"Instead of encouraging NSF's applied (useful) projects outside of basic (no-goal) science, Proxmire argued that many of them seem to belong more properly under juris diction of other agencies." Proxmire listed projects ranging from history to transportation, asking why these were not being funded by other agencies instead of by the NSF. This point was not lost on the SCIENCE writer, who stat ed:"lt is relevant to ask, in addition, how basic science fared with the Senator.. Like other politi cians in the past, Proxmire seemed to take NSF at its word when it comes to basic science." The SCIENCE writer was cor rect. Congress historically has been reluctant to interfere with what eu phemistically is called "basic" research. They're afraid of argeted, useful research. The public has no way of knowing that on the one hand Congress may be economy-minded and pen ny-pinching in areas of crucial social need while on the other hand, or with the other hand, it lavishly subsidizes such "basic" research as psychobiology, otherwise known as "an imal behavior", without letting the public know what is really being done with the money. The people can't object to what they don't know. On December 3, 1973, the New York TIMES reported on a survey which showed that a maj ority of the American people are "deeply disillu sioned and disenchanted", and believe that "there is too much secrecy in government". As an exam ple of that secrecy, how many people know that the huge sum of money Congress has squandered for a quarter of a century on 360 3.31 442 PS SC SC Sc SO SC TERM AVERAGE ' 1 '1•• • COWIN MIRAGE ~ . ,...?;. p ..§.*,?.L,•;,- , ,,,:. . ,;:. ' ft.; 4 - . i'e,..'..z:• Anyone wishing to claim these grades may pick them up in W-110, the Student Government Office. NSF's psychobiological torture and torment of animals probably could have provided every major city in this country with a modern, efficient and safe transportation system? People who find out the truth might well conclude that they have been and continue to be victims of unarmed robbery, perpe trated by the very men and women they elected as their representatives in Congress. It's hard to understand why Congress continues to blindly waste billions of tax dollars on this "no-goal", "can't-do-a job", "basic" animal exper imentation. This report will give the reader an idea of what was really done with hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds that could have been spent for social ly useful purposes instead of for the torture of animals, had Congress fulfilled its duty under the Constitution to appropriate public funds and determine HOW THEY SHALL BE SPENT. It should be noted that the National Science Foundation is not the only agency supporting psy chobiological research. All of the Federal "health" agencies, including the Veterans Administration, the military Establishment, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, etc., are also subsidizing the torment of animals in psychobiology. Fol!lowing are a few brief abstracts which illustrate both re search and education in psychobiology, more com monly known as"animal behavior", paid for by the NSF. EDUCATION. Twenty seven cats used. Portions of olfactory (smell sense) cortex of the brain removed from fifteen cats by suc tion. Control animals were sham operated (subjected to surgery without brain damage). Brain-damaged cats were slow to learn that a piece of "bait" beef had been shifted from one covered dish to another. A feeding cubicle was de signed to deliver 20 volts of electric current between floor and metal food dish, and cats were shocked shortly after immersing mouth in food. Six of eight control animals never re turned to eat after being shocked twice. Cats with TESTS & NEASUREPTS SEC lAL NCVENEhTS CENFORP 6 CEV lATIk DECEMBER 6, 1974 damaged brains showed a"total failure" in learning to avoid the site of electric punishment (i.e. the food dish). Conclusion: this type of brain damage produces "highly reliable" behavioral deficits. (Pre doctoral fellowshipo PhD dissertation) EDUCATION. Eight female "mongrel" dogs obtained from the "Yale Department of Animal Care" used. Electrodes surgically im planted in the brain of each animal for the delivery of electric shock. Dogs sus pended in a sling with straps tied around each leg so that a paw "could not be placed on any other plat form but its own." Animals were tested for their ability to lift the"right rear leg" In response to brain shock. Experimenter noted wheth er each dog fully or partially lifted the test leg or whether it moved any of its four limbs"regardless of the direction of the move ment." Experimenter said that animals with their feet held further apart by the sling were"required" to make a "large postural adjustment" and thus an ticipate reaction to shock more than animals whose feet were bound closer together. At the end of the experiment, all of the dogs were killed so the exper imenter could find out where In the brain cortex the electrodes had been placed. (PhD dissertation) It is important to know that the National Science Foundation is a member of the National Society for Medical Research, which exists to promote the procurement and use of laboratory animals, includ ing stray animals. This is how Congress and the Federal agencies serve special interest with public funds without the knowl edge of the public. People can't object to what they don't know. Following are examples of the kind of"scientific progress" the NSF fosters with money extracted from the Amer ican people by Congress: Pigeons attack restrained live target pigeon during aggression experiments. Some of the birds made "thousands of attacks" against the helpless re strained bird. 1.0 1.0 1.0 c.c 0.0 C.O GEMOING SYSTEM MXIIIII/11 4 GIMk 111/(t. 11.6000 I •• ON. 2 t. UMIAK S ON lOWANS NMI NO GUM rn IMMO P.PASS INKSIMO4 PLNOS f 1.1114 IB MUM I (WINO ft WINK 111 181 AL INNIS Off NI Jill MUM iIS t IL UMWS 111111111111 N DOI Alt AM NG OR IN GUMS MI AVINAGE CANNOI II CON. 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