With the Large Hadron Collider about to enter full operation, Jennifer Ouellette brings news of a new protest against the instrument:

…news last week of a pending protest by a group called People for the Ethical Treatment of Hadrons (PETH) — the same folks responsible for Mothers Against Undead Drivers (MAUD), aimed at raising the awareness of the dangers of driving while a zombie.

The protesters are very concerned that CERN scientists are about to go about destroying large numbers of innocent particles, without any attempt to determine the physical and emotional costs of such activities to their test subjects. As Jennifer says

Never mind the fact that these careless physicists haven’t even bothered to study whether or not hadrons can feel pain. Or anything at all. Who knows the torment we could be subjecting them to, all in the name of science?

To aid the campaign, Jennifer has drawn up a Particle Bill of Rights. If only this had happened a week ago. We really should have had a panel about it at Worldcon.

And if you are still a little confused about what the whole LHC thing is about, try watching this simple rap video, courtesy of Kate McAlpine.