Re: Man Sentenced in radioactive Poisoning Case

[Franz Schoenhofer <schoenho@via.at>]

At 13:17 10.01.2000 -0600, you wrote:
>>The blame goes to the criminal.  If someone picked up a chair and
>>smashed in someone's head with it, is the University responsible
>>because chairs were not secured against lifting?
>

???????????????????? What has this to do with the fact, that the University
obviously neglected its duty to keep radioactive material safely under
control, as is is usually required in civilized countries? Or do you think
that the blame goes to a criminal shooting somebody with army guns, spread
out by the responsible persons on an open market place and left unattended
?????????? Not only radioactive material has to be kept safely, but also
poisonous chemicals like mercury compounds, barium compounds, cyanides and
and and and and..... If somebody would have the opportunity at a university
to take such compounds and kill another person with them, then of course
also (I say explicitely 
a l s o !!!) the university has to be cited. At least in Europe hazardous
material like poisonous chemicals, radioactive material have to be kept
safely and there has to be a person who is responsible for it. The same is
true for equipment which could harm people. The owner or operator has to
secure this equipment, so nobody who is not authorized can use it - or can
anybody who just happens to drop in operate x-ray equipment, accelerators
or whatsoever?    And do not tell me that such legislation does not exist
in the USA. 


>A Swedish woman last year suggested, as a means to stop rapes, that no men 
>should be allowed to be outdoors after 10 p.m. (widely quoted in Swedish 
>media). The woman is working on a PhD in some social science.

I do not understand the context. If a fool says some nonsense and another
fool (some media) quotes it - well, the media did not quote it because it
was taken serious, but to give their readers some fun. (Why not propose
that women should be kept securely all day long, if they are so
endangeroused? I know at least one country where this is done!) One does
not need to imprison potential criminals (for instance all students), but
it would be better to "imprison" dangerous material according to legislation. 


Franz



Franz Schoenhofer
Habicherg. 31/7
A-1160 Vienna
Austria
Tel.: +43-1-495 53 08
Fax.: same number
mobile phone: +43-664-338 0 333
e-mail: schoenho@via.at

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