[meteorite-list] BS In The NYT: Black Market Trinkets From Space

From: drtanuki <drtanuki_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 4 Apr 2011 13:05:38 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <396209.12276.qm_at_web161209.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>

Dear List,

The blog mentioned in the NYT article:
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/3919089/page/4/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1

Dr. Ralph P. Harvey page:
http://geology.cwru.edu/~harvey/

Best Regards, Dirk Ross...Tokyo


--- On Tue, 4/5/11, mail at mhmeteorites.com <mail at mhmeteorites.com> wrote:

> From: mail at mhmeteorites.com <mail at mhmeteorites.com>
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] BS In The NYT: Black Market Trinkets From Space
> To: "Yinan Wang" <veomega at gmail.com>, meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com, "Meteorite-list" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Date: Tuesday, April 5, 2011, 4:51 AM
> Perhaps one of the many esteemed
> researchers on this list would be kind enough to write a
> rebuttal.
> Matt
> ------------------------
> Matt Morgan
> Mile High Meteorites
> http://www.mhmeteorites.com
> P.O. Box 151293
> Lakewood, CO 80215
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Yinan Wang <veomega at gmail.com>
> Sender: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
> Date: Mon, 4 Apr 2011 14:44:02
> To: Meteorite-list<meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] BS In The NYT: Black Market
> Trinkets From Space
>
> For those who are inclined to do so, you can certainly
> write a letter
> to the editor which may be published in the Opinions
> page? of the NY
> times as a response:
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/content/help/site/editorial/letters/letters.html?ref=letters
>
> -YvW
>
> On Mon, Apr 4, 2011 at 2:30 PM, Meteorites USA <eric at meteoritesusa.com>
> wrote:
> > This is one of the most sensationalized, biased,
> uninformed, and skewed
> > article I've ever read on NYT's website regarding
> meteorites. Mainly the
> > article focuses on the Gebel Kamil iron meteorite,
> however it paints a grim
> > picture and tries to draw a connection to all
> meteorites implying that the
> > private market is somehow damaging the science.
> >
> > Black Market Trinkets From Space:
> > http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/05/science/05meteorite.html
> > Quote: "Popular or not, the meteorites were taboo. In
> Egypt and elsewhere,
> > scientists say, it is illegal without a permit to
> remove meteorites from a
> > country."
> > Quote: "The scientists say they have relatively few
> samples compared with
> > the booming illicit sales."
> > Quote: "Dr. Harvey of Case Western Reserve said the
> quandary applied to the
> > scientific community as a whole. The rampant looting
> of meteorite sites and
> > skyrocketing prices for the fragments, he said,
> ?dramatically reduce who can
> > get samples to do the research."
> > Quote: "The black market has exploded in size mainly
> because of a rush of
> > new meteorites arriving from North Africa and the
> Arabian Peninsula."
> > Quote: "The collectors association, founded in 2004 in
> Nevada, now has
> > hundreds of members around the globe. And while some
> traders deal in
> > legitimate exports, many do not. One buyer expressed
> remorse after reading
> > about scientific angst over the thriving market.
> ?I?m very ashamed,? the
> > buyer wrote on a blog. ?I?m surely a part of the
> problem.
> >
> > This article is irresponsible and borderline yellow
> journalism from the NYT.
> > They should be ashamed for running such a biased and
> uninformed story. Well
> > over half of the article weighs on the disadvantages
> and more than infers a
> > "possible" damage to science which is not there.
> >
> > It almost completely ignores the great good that's
> been accomplished through
> > private collecting/hunting/curating or meteorites and
> the contributions that
> > have been made by private collectors and hunters. It
> never mentions
> > donations to institutions, how much of a sample is
> needed to study any
> > meteorite, nor does it mention how many people it
> brings to the science.
> > There is one very good quote from Anne which states:
> >
> > ?The scientists do not have time to go hunt for
> their own meteorites, so
> > somebody has to do it for them,? said Anne M. Black,
> president of the
> > collectors association. ?It?s common sense.?
> >
> > To the uninformed reader, and inexperienced meteorite
> collector the NYT
> > article looks very bad and creates an artificially
> biased view from those
> > not familiar with meteorites. It's purely political.
> >
> > I think it should be an article for MHC Magazine. To
> make it FAIR for
> > everyone involved, I want ALL points of view, from all
> sides. From the
> > scientific world, and the private market, as well as
> the points from the
> > center. Anyone who would like the opportunity to tell
> the WHOLE story, who
> > cares to write a rebuttal for the NYT's blatantly
> biased article, send me
> > your info. I would be more than happy to publish it!
> >
> > Contact me with your comments, facts and opinions.
> This article will be both
> > on the blog http://www.mhcmagazine.com/blog/ and in
> the next issue of the
> > magazine!
> >
> > Regards,
> > Eric Wichman
> > MHC Magazine
> > http://www.mhcmagazine.com
> >______________________________________________
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> >
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Received on Mon 04 Apr 2011 04:05:38 PM PDT