[meteorite-list] Dear NYT:

[JoshuaTreeMuseum]

Dear NYT,

I understand that times are hard and you can't afford to pay reporters what 
you used to. Changing to a paid subscription on the Internet will cost you 
lots of readers. I certainly will be reading the WaPo from now on. I can see 
how you have to drum up a readership. You have bills to pay. However, your 
article "Black-Market Trinkets From Space" crosses the line into 
rabble-rousing yellow journalism at its worst. The story was written by a 
man that as far as I can tell has never previously typed a word on the 
subject of meteoritics. To say this article was poorly researched would be 
an understatement of astronomical proportions. Does Ralph P. Harvey present 
a shred of evidence to back up his outrageous claims about the existence of 
a meteorite black market? The total monies that change hands in the 99.99% 
of the meteorite market that is legal is a pittance compared to the prices 
commanded by fine art, jewelry and rare coins. One good Picasso is worth 
many times more than all the meteorites legally traded in a year.

While it's true that a handful of countries frown upon the exportation of 
meteorites without the proper paperwork, in the vast majorities of 
countries, the practice is legal. The market for meteorites is miniscule, 
aimed at a tiny tight-knit group of collectors, curators and scientists. 
Hardly enough money there to support a real black market, like the ones for 
drugs and weapons.

Countries that have enacted restrictive meteorite laws like Australia have 
seen the supply of native Australian meteorites found dwindle down to almost 
nothing. It's a lose, lose situation. You're going to have to show me some 
evidence for the existence of well-organized Aussie meteorite smuggling 
rings. And who exactly would be buying these hot rocks anyway? Are they 
being fenced in pawn shops around the world? Pssst!! Hey buddy!! I got a 
sexy carbonaceous chondrite you've got to see. The whole idea of a meteorite 
black market is a ridiculous fantasy with no basis in fact whatsoever.

The main problem with the article is its faulty premise. The writer confuses 
the rumors of the alleged illegality of the Egyptian Gebel Kamil fall with 
the perfectly legal trade in North West African meteorites. A quick reading 
of the abstruse Egyptian export laws reveal nothing against meteorites at 
the time Gebel Kamil was first collected. The legal status of Gebel Kamil 
has nothing to do with the NWA meteorite trade. You could learn this with 10 
minutes of Googling.

This story represents the death rattle of a once proud journalistic 
institution. It reeks of desperation. It reminds me of how the Chicago 
Tribune switched over to a semi-tabloid format in a desperate bid for a 
share of the dwindling readership market. I can remember the day that 
happened. I was reading the paper one day and I kept thinking, "what is all 
this crap?" Where's the serious journalism?  It's at a place called the 
"internets" by one much wiser than me. The day of the newpaper paradigm of 
news dissemination is over. Another one bites the dust.

---------------------------
Phil Whitmer