From: oleg@llustig.palo-alto.ca.us (Oleg Kiselev)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria,alt.aquaria
Subject: Re: licensing (long) (was: Re: Recent live-rock boom...)
Date: 7 Apr 92 23:28:46 GMT
Article-I.D.: llustig.1992Apr7.232846.6805
Organization: Palo Alto Killifish Loft

In article <1992Apr7.193656.24662@cs.ucla.edu> jason@lanai.cs.ucla.edu (Jason Rosenberg) writes:
>Well, your starting to sound like a card carrying member of the NRA (gag!).

This may shock you profoundly, but I see nothing wrong with fire arms... and
gun subject is irrelevant to *.aquaria.

>Green Peace killing baby seals?  I don't believe that.  

I had already posted that I will try to locate the nvestigative article that
presented the evidence.  I did not think at the time to save it.

>Commercial industry is certainly not all about being honest and forthright
>in never leading the public astray, etc.  

Absolutely.  Industry is full of profiteering, dishonest swine who would 
slaughter their families and neighbours to make a few more dollars.  So are
the Gov'ts which are concerned mostly with being re-elecetd and rewarding
their largest supporters (i.e. Big Business).  Just because your opponents 
lie and cheat does not mean you should take up their tactics.

>If you want to criticize your
>"eco-nazis" under those terms, you have to criticize all of society.

Exactly.  

>If
>you have lost that much faith in modern civilization (not hard to do), then
>let us know that is where your coming from.

Being a part of the society needs not make you blind to its faults.

>You would then think there is no hope what-so-ever to save the environment

Then we may just as well roll over and die?  Everyone can contribute their
own little bit to help: promote recycling, reduce consumption, support
environmentally sane policies, intelligently choose how you spend your money
to make sure that it does the most good to the planet and the people, and
most importantly educate yourself and others about it.  Picking on marine
reef aquarists as the primary cause of the reef destruction is probably the 
stupidest way to help the reefs and prevent their destruction.

>Nazism is not about fringe groups lobbying for what they believe in.

Fine, let's call it fascism then.  The term "nazi" is indeed not the most
appropriate.  "Eco-totalitarianism" is more appropriate, but too long.
So "eco-fascists" it is.

>It is about central dictatorial control of the entire society en masse.  

Have you looked at the Greens Party platform positions lately, especially
the European Greens?

>I now admit that I may have over-reacted to the original Audubon article.  But
>the gist is accurate.  There is damage being done to reefs, and we as a group
>should be sensitive to the problems, instead of reactionary.

Yes, we should be sensitive to the problems and help prevent damage to the
reefs: route oil tankers and other shipping traffic away from the reefs,
boycott shops that sell bleached coral "curios" (that coral usually starts 
out very much alive -- real dead coral becomes a crubled, compacted and
cemented part of the reef!), oppose IMF's idiotic policies that promote
destruction of natural resources, promote education and selective financial 
assistance to the nations that own the reefs to encourage reef preservation,
etc.  And by all means do promote more awareness among aquarists about their
hobby.  But don't llow ignorant scandal-mongers smear our hobby because it's
easier to pick on than Saddam Hussein.

-- 
Oleg Kiselev, at home			....use the header to find the path
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria